By Majid Nabi
Srinagar- The Hajj Committee of India (HCOI) has taken a slew of people friendly initiatives to make Haj-2023 easy for women and senior citizens, besides making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca cheaper by Rs 80,000 from this year, Jammu and Kashmir Haj Committee chairperson, Safeena Baig said on Saturday.
Addressing a news conference, Safeena said that the government has also done away with the ‘discretionary’ Haj quota for pilgrims, keeping in view Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “resolve to end VIP culture” in the country.
She said rich or poor, everyone will be treated equally as the decades old VIP culture was put to end by the ruling regime in India.
“I really congratulate the government for taking some excellent measures which are worth appreciation. The Hajj Committee of India has approved group pilgrimage for women, in absence of a Mahram,” she said.
“Women who haven’t yet accomplished their dream of performing Hajj, can now be accompanied by their spouses, who have already performed Hajj through HCOI in the past,” she added.
She said those having already travelled to the holy city to perform Hajj, have to pay additional charges, though nominal, if they wish to accompany their spouses.
“Although males having performed holy trips in the past were not allowed through HCOI twice, she said.
“We used to have some additional quota which generally goes up to 6,000 in J&K being a Muslim majority, but now we are mulling to make it 10,000. There are so many new things added in the policy by the government,” Safeena said, adding there will be no bar for the people above 65 years of age, as the government has withdrawn the upper age limit.
She also stated that following hectic deliberations between HCoI and the Saudi government, the cost of annual pilgrimage is likely to reduce by around Rs 80,000.
“So, it means a pilgrim who had to pay an amount of Rs 4.50 lakh earlier, will now pay around Rs 3.5 – Rs 4 lakh,” she said.
She said the people intending to undertake the holy pilgrimage can avail the form online free of cost. She added that if anyone faces any problem, he/she could get a hard copy from Haj House.
Safeena also said that those facing problems in getting their passports or whose travel documents have expired could contact Haj House officials for assistance.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
