New Delhi: Every year during the festival of Bakrit, Muslims living all over the world go for the holy Hajj. The central and state governments are providing various concessions to those traveling from India. Various concessions are being announced for the first time on behalf of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. For this, a new policy is going to be announced by the Central Minority Welfare Department.
In this regard, in a Twitter post released yesterday by the department, “Through the historic new policy, Hajj pilgrims will get various financial benefits. For the first time, applications are being made free of cost. It has been mentioned that the cost of Hajj will be reduced by Rs.50,000.
After this post, various information is being released in the Ministry of Minority Welfare. Accordingly, the application for Hajj which was distributed for Rs.300 will now be provided free of charge. Eight additional destinations are planned for Hajj departure in 2023 depending on demand. Currently, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bengaluru, Srinagar, Ranchi, Gaya, Aurangabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaipur, Nagpur, Kannur, Kozhikode, Hajj groups leave from Kochi, Ahmedabad and Agartala. As the number of these places increases, Hajj groups are likely to depart from Coimbatore or Trichy in addition to Tamil Nadu.
Women above 45 years of age who were accompanied by a member of their family were sent along with other groups. From now on they will be allowed to go on Hajj pilgrimage alone. Along with these, the elderly and differently-abled persons are to be given importance and priority. So far only one member of the family has been allowed to travel for couples above 70 years of age. Now both are going to be allowed.
1.75 lakh pilgrims from India have been approved for Haj this year. Out of this, 80 percent can go as government Haj pilgrims and the rest through private Haj pilgrim organizations. This time the deposit for Hajj has been reduced. In this trip, charges for bedding, umbrella, bags etc. have been canceled and made free.
It is assured that the cost of a Hajj traveler will be reduced by up to Rs.50,000 due to various such offers. Specifically, treating all Haj pilgrims as one, the VIP reservations allotted so far are cancelled. The central government’s new policy covering all these will be announced soon.
