National Desk, 11 June: A man from Kerala has shown determination by marching 8,600 kilometres from his state to Makkah city in nearly a year that is in 370 days to perform Haj. He arrived in Makkah city in June.
Shihab Chottur started his journey from Valassery in Mallapuram to Mecca on June 2, 2022. He reached the pilgrimage site of Saudi Arabia through Pakistan, Iran, Kuwait, starting from Kerala. Shihab embarked on a marathon journey to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. He crossed the Border of Saudi Arabia from Kuwait in the second week of May this year and arrived in Mecca in June.
It is learnt that Shihab entered Saudi Arabia and first went to the Islamic pilgrimage site Of Madinah and spent 21 days there. He then left for Mecca. It is worth mentioning that it took him nine days to cover the 440-km stretch between Medina and Makkah. He has already arrived in Makkah but will perform Hajj only after his mother Zainaba reaches the city from Kerala.
Shihab Chittur has its own YouTube channel. Through this, Shihab who hails from Kerala has regularly kept his audience updated about his journey. He has to face a lot of problems in this difficult journey. Shihab had to face a hurdle before reaching his final destination. His journey continued smoothly after starting the Haj pilgrimage. But he had to stop for a while at the Wagah border, as he wanted to enter Pakistan through this border. Since Shihab had to cross Pakistan to march from India to Makkah.
He was stopped by the Immigration Authority of Pakistan at the Wagah border. This is because the Lahore High Court had ignored the plea for grant of visa to him. He had to stay for a few months at a school in Wagah to get a transit visa.
However, the verdict was later contested in the Supreme Court. Finally, in February 2023, Sihab received a transit visa and entered Pakistan.
Four months later, Shihab Chottur reaches his destination for his Haj pilgrimage.