Impact of Corona epidemic visible on Haj pilgrimage
Only 771 applications have come to Delhi so far, the last date is 10 December.
New Delhi, 07 December: The economic recession and inflation caused by the Kovid epidemic are directly impacting the holy Haj pilgrimage this time. Extremely expensive applications have been received so far this time for the Haj pilgrimage along with the guideline of Kovid-19, while 10 December is the last date of application. Last year, the Saudi Arabian government had set India’s quota of two lakh, but this year it can be reduced to just 50 thousand by cutting the quota. Of this, only Haj Committee can get only 30-35 thousand quota, the remaining quota can be given to private tour operators.
At present, Union Minority Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is collecting information related to the Haj pilgrimage and he can disclose the entire strategy in Delhi before 10 December.
The Haj pilgrimage has become very expensive this year compared to the previous year due to the economic recession and inflation affected by the Corona epidemic. Mohsin Ali, deputy executive officer of the Delhi Haj Committee, said that in the Corona era, where the Saudi government canceled Haj pilgrimage for all countries including India in 2020, this year also the condition is not very good and favorable. People are financially troubled because of the epidemic. This year’s Haj has also become much more expensive than before. The effect of this is clearly visible in the applications made for the pilgrimage to Haj. Only 1-2 people are coming to the Delhi State Haj Committee office to apply throughout the day.
According to Mohsin Ali, according to the guideline issued by the government this time about the epidemic, the entire process of filling the Hajj form is online. For this help, the desk has been made in Haj Manzil. The staff present here helps in filling the form. There is also a team of doctors on behalf of the Delhi government, who are also investigating blood groups etc. for free. They sit here empty all day because only one or two people filling the form are coming.
So far only 771 people from the capital Delhi have applied to go on the Haj pilgrimage. The same situation is with other states as well. There too, the pace of filling the form is going very slow. According to Mohsin, only 771 application forms have been received since last November 7, whereas on normal days, so many forms used to come in one day. This can be gauged by how slow the process of filling the form is going at this time. It seems that the last date for filling the form may have to be extended.
Along with the financial crisis, the increased fees of Haj are troubling people somewhere. People have broken down in terms of business due to the lockdown. Which has a direct impact on the pilgrims of Haj. This time, due to the health guideline, the number of Hajis visiting the group has been reduced from five to three. Along with this, the age limit has also been changed. This time, people above 65 years of age are not allowed to go on the Haj pilgrimage. Apart from this, there is also a fear among the common people that somewhere like last year, this time to any change can be done by the Saudi Arabian government. Because of this, there is a situation of confusion among those going on Haj. (HC)
