According to reports, a total of 7,055 individuals from Maharashtra have enrolled for the annual haj pilgrimage. Of which, 1,790 are from the Marathwada region alone.
In the pre-COVID era, around 25 to 27 lakhs of Muslims, hailing from different parts of the world, reached the holy city Makkah to perform the Haj pilgrimage every year.
However, in the wake of coronavirus, the Saudi Arabian government has decided to allow only 60,000 pilgrims for haj this year, including the quota of 45,000 pilgrims from the rest of the world, said the general secretary of the Federation of Haj Pilgrims’ Social Workers Maharashtra.
Earlier, India had a quota of around 1.7 lakh pilgrims each year. Almost 70 per cent of haj aspirants in India plan their journey through the Haj Committee of India and the remaining 30 per cent opt for private tours.
But, for this year, the quota for Indian pilgrims is yet to be declared and a favourable announcement is expected by the first week of June ahead of the scheduled start of the holy pilgrimage in July.
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Moreover, as per the health advisory issued by Saudi Arabia, pilgrim should get two doses of vaccine before embarking upon the journey. As the vaccination for the beneficiaries in the 18-44 years category has been halted in India at present, the federation has demanded to carry out a special vaccination drive for haj aspirants.
Besides, as per the health and age-related guidelines issued by Saudi Arabia, the Haj Committee of India has appealed to all haj applicants in the 18-60 years age group to upload/fill their details of vaccination on the official website (www.hajcommittee.gov.in).
If the applicant has taken only one dose of the vaccine, then he/she should also upload the same information and try to take the second dose as soon as possible, it said.
The pilgrimage has been planned by both Indian and Saudi governments keeping in mind the COVID-19 safety requirements. Meanwhile, no pilgrim above the age of 60 years is allowed to undertake the haj this year due to the pandemic.
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