Woh information hamare pas abhi thak aaya nahin, bhai

There were no tearful scenes, no wailing relatives and certainly no angry mobs at the Central Haj Committee office in Bombay on Wednesday -- just as there was no news about the Hajis who perished in the Mecca fire on Tuesday.

But there was anxiety -- yes, a quiet, overpowering sort of anxiety -- which would time and again spill over and find reflection in raised voices.

"Hai bhai, udar ka kuch phone number hai tum log ke pas (Do you have any telephones there)? "Since the news broke out, hundreds of beleaguered relatives had thrown that question at the Haj officials, but the answer was always the same." Woh information hamare pas abhi thak aaya nahin, bhai (That information has not yet reached us, brother)."

Altaf Khatir, who has three members of his family in Mecca, finds it hard to bear the uncertainty. ''They (the Haj committee) had been flashing the emergency phone numbers since morning. I thought I would be able to find something from here," he said, "I hope I receive a call from my relatives tonight."

"Both my daughters, sister and her four children are there in the holy land," said Asmat Rais, "I received news from all but one daughter; I was hoping I would get some news about her today."

"They don't have any information here," added S M Akthar scornfully, who is waiting for news about his father, "I have come here twice -- once in the morning and now. And they are still saying the same thing."

What with having to deal with anxious relatives and the army of reporters (''There have been more questions from the reporters than the relatives!") who had been questioning them nonstop, the Haj committee officials, as well as the social workers who are assisting them, are a harassed lot -- and have only one consolation to offer.

"Hopefully, we will have the details by tomorrow... the names and everything. All the Hajis are registered with us; we have their phone numbers and addresses. The minute we know something we will let you know," officials at the inquiry desk says.

However, seated in his first floor office and answering a phalanx of journalists, Haj Committee vice-president Rizwan Harris said he did not think it quite possible: "I think it will be at least another week before we have all the details."

The identification process would be a long-drawn process. All anyone could say at this juncture for sure was that the dead pilgrims were from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia -- and, maybe, the names of some pilgrims who are not dead. (Many had called called up and announced their well-being.)

"If it was a stampede, then it would have been easy identifying the bodies. But here, many have been burned beyond recognition," says Dr Zahir Kazi, a volunteer with the Committee, "Now, the authorities will have to decide who is dead by excluding the living. That is going to take a lot of time."

Moreover, as April 16 was the most important day for the Hajis (this was when they were to congregate on Mount Arafat in the morning and offer prayers till sunset), the Saudi Arabian authorities are busy conducting them there and back. The identifications would have to wait till the pilgrims returned to Mecca, which would take another two days.

''What about compensation? Will the the Saudi government compensate the relatives of the dead?" the committee vice-president was asked.

"No, I don't think they will be compensated," Harris said, "There have been no such precedence -- in the past when Hajis died in similar accidents, no one received compensation."

The victims, he added, would be buried in the holy city itself.