Hyderabad: The State Haj Committee has suggested that the Haj Committee of India reserve the seats for Haj 2021 to those who were provisionally selected for the pilgrimage this year and lost the opportunity to this year due too the pandemic.
Saudi authorities have decided to allow only a limited number of its citizens and foreigners already in the kingdom to perform Haj this year because of the pandemic and the risk of infections spreading in large gatherings. This means no foreigners will be allowed entry into the country for pilgrimage.
The Centre has decided that Muslims from India will not go to Saudi Arabia to perform the Haj, keeping in mind the Saudi decision and the health of Indians.
The decision was taken after Saudi Arabia's Haj and Umrah minister Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten telephoned on Monday night and suggested not to send pilgrims from India for Haj this year, Union minister for minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters in Delhi.
According to the Haj Committee of India, 1.18 lakh people had registered for Haj and about 16,000 had availed of the offer for cancellation so far. It has now been decided to refund the full amount deposited by remaining applicants to their bank accounts.Chairman, State Haj Committee, Mohammed Masihullah Khan has addressed a letter to Union minister Naqvi, requesting him to reserve seats next year for the intending pilgrims who were selected this year.
He said many intending pilgrims had requested him to reserve their seats for the next year’s pilgrims. He said that out of 3,878 intending pilgrims, only 936 had opted to drop out.
