Covid-19 shatters many Hajj dreams
WITH the Hajj committee announcing full refunds of the fees for the coming Hajj 2020 season, the pilgrimage dreams of thousands of Muslim faithful are shattered.
From Maharashtra, around 10 500 Muslims were selected and were scheduled to go on the most important pilgrimage of their lives.
However, with no clarity forthcoming from the Saudi Arabian government, and with several countries like Indonesia and Pakistan voluntarily cancelling their own plans, the situation this year appears bleak for prospective hajjis.
“On March 13, before India went into lockdown, the Saudi Arabian government had conveyed to us to temporarily halt Hajj 2020 preparations without any further communication thereafter. The writing on the wall seems clear,” said Jamal Siddiqui, who chairs the Maharashtra State Hajj Committee.
Coupled with the Central Hajj Committee’s decision to give a full refund to the pilgrims and no further instructions from Saudi Arabia, he feels Hajj 2020 may remain just a desire for Muslims, but nobody can be blamed for it.
“This is because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But we feel the pilgrims should not be made to suffer. We have written to the (central committee) demanding that the same people selected must be allowed to go next year. If the (central committee) is giving a refund, it should be with adequate compensation.”
He sought to know why the Hajj Committee continued to collect the fees despite the Saudi Arabian government’s communication of March 13, which put a question mark on the Hajj 2020 pilgrimage. This year, an estimated 200000 Muslims from India were planning to perform Hajj, including over 125 000 through the Hajj committees and the rest, around 47 000, through private Hajj tour operators.
Syed AR Milli, president of the Indian Haj & Umrah Tours Operators’ Welfare Association, said the demand for compensation was unjustified, but he supported the demand to carry forward this year’s list of pilgrims to the 2021 Hajj season.
Naseem Khan, a senior Congress leader, expressed similar sentiments. He said people applied for years to go on the pilgrimage and those selected for 2020 should not be deprived of this once-in-lifetime opportunity and the government should consider them for Hajj 2021. Pilgrims going through the Haj committees pay up Rs 201 000 (R44780), those in the green category pay Rs 2.90 lakhs.
Those opting for the private Hajj tour operators are required to pay between Rs 3.50 lakhs and Rs 12 lakhs depending on the gold, silver or bronze categories of the applications.
In May, the much-anticipated Ramadaan Umrah was suspended for the first time.
About 3 million pilgrims worldwide, including an estimated 500 000 from India, were left disappointed.
The first flight for Hajj was scheduled to depart from Mumbai and other parts of India from June 22 and the return flights were expected by August.
The visa endorsement and other final processes were due to start from May 8 onwards, but it was not taken up in view of the coronavirus pandemic and several countries opted to cancel their own Hajj plans, according to Siddiqui. | IANS