New Delhi, April 23: After a hiatus of two years due to the Covid pandemic, the Haj yatra will begin this year as usual, the Saudi government has announced.
However, with Covid cases still being reported from across the globe, the number of Haj pilgrims is less, compared to 2 lakh pilgrims that went for the Haj in 2019.
India, this year, will send 79,237 pilgrims to perform the Haj. The Haj Committee of India will send 56,601 pilgrims and 26,636 pilgrims will be managed by Haj Group Organisers (HGOs).
According to the data available with the Minority Affairs Ministry, the total number of applications received this year is 87,194, out of which 44,121 are male applicants and 43,073 are female.
Kerala has sent the maximum applications (11,449), followed by Maharashtra with 10,125 applications.
Jammu & Kashmir sent the third-highest number of applications (9,993). The Saudi government-approved quota will be implemented through a lottery system.
The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the first in the world to allow women to go on Haj without a male companion or Mehram. This year, the Haj Committee received 2,000 applications from women seeking to go to Haj without Mehram.
More than 3,000 women had applied for Haj without the "Mehram" category in 2020 and 2021. They were unable to travel due to Covid restrictions, thus their application will be considered again this time. All women who do not fall under the "Mehram" category will be exempt from the lottery system.
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"We have met all the arrangements and all the officers who will be travelling have been trained well in the procedures. Here also, we are making sure that all Covid protocols are followed including the mandatory Covid negative RT-PCR certificate before 72 hours of arrival so that there is no inconvenience to anyone," Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
Total 11 Haj embarkation points, including Chennai, Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kochi, are among those which have been identified for this year, informed the minister.
"We had received requests from many states to ask for increasing the number of points for Haj embarkation but this year, with the restrictions continuing with the Covid-19, we have not been able to add any more locations," he added.
Women have been elected as vice-chairpersons of the Haj Committee of India for the first time. Munnawari Begum, a member of the Central Waqf Council, and Mafuja Khatun, vice president of the Bengal BJP, have been appointed to the Haj Committee.
In 2018, the Modi government removed the subsidy provided for Haj, and the money, which was close to 400 crore per year, was used to fund education for girl children.
The Haj 2022 will begin on May 31, 2022. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister for Minority Affairs, will flag the inaugural flight.
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-PTC News