NEW DILLI: After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, 79,237 Indian Muslims will fly to Saudi Arabia to perform the Haj-2022 pilgrimage which will start from July onwards, Indian officials said on Saturday.
They include around 50 percent of women. Some 22,636 will go via Hajj group organizers and the rest through the Haj Committee of India (HCI), said Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
More than 1,800 Muslim women will go for Hajj 2022 without “Mehram” (male companion), and without the lottery system, he added.
Naqvi was inaugurating a two-day training camp for 400 Khadim-ul-Hujjaj’ including 12 women, who will assist the Indian Hajj pilgrims in Mecca-Medina with processes related to Hajj, accommodation, transport, health, and safety.
They will be trained by officials from HCI, Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Disaster Management agencies, doctors, airlines, customs, and immigration professionals.
The minister said that Hajj is taking place with significant reforms giving utmost priority to the health and well-being of the pilgrims and all processes have been chalked out jointly by the governments of India and Saudi Arabia based on criteria like age, health, etc.
“We are making all-out efforts to ensure there is no additional financial burden on the pilgrims as they will perform the Hajj without any subsidy. The process is going on to take accommodation, transportation, and other necessary facilities in Saudi Arabia at affordable prices,” Naqvi said.
The selection process of the pilgrims was in accordance with the COVID vaccination protocols and other norms decided by the two governments, he said.
Naqvi said the government has arranged 10 flight embarkation points for pilgrims going through HCI — Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Srinagar.
