– Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi, Jan. 30: The Hajj Committee of India (HCI) on January 29 conducted Qurrah Andazi (Draw of Lots) for Hajj 2024. The automated lottery was used for the selection process. Saudi authorities set a quota for Indian Hajj pilgrims this year at 1,75,025. Of these, 1,40,025 will opt for Hajj Committee, and the remainder will use private tour operators. This year, HCI received over $1,74,000 applications.
HCI Chief Executive Officer Liaquat Ali Afaqi, IRS, said all 6370 pilgrims who were at least 70 years old, and 5162 female pilgrims without Mehram, had their petitions accepted without a lottery. Compared to prior years, these figures are substantially higher.
Of the total female applicants without Mehram, Kerala submitted the most applications – 3584 in total. While Tamil Nadu submitted 378 applications, Karnataka 249, Maharashtra 166, Uttar Pradesh 141, Telangana 130, Jammu and Kashmir 82, Madhya Pradesh 72, Gujarat 64, Delhi 50, Andhra Pradesh 44, West Bengal 40, Rajasthan 33, Bihar 30, Assam 29, Pondicherry 19, Chhattisgarh 14, Uttarakhand 10, Jharkhand 9, Goa and Orissa 5, Ladakh 3, Lakshadweep 2, Haryana 2 and Punjab 1.
Of the total 70-year-old or older pilgrims, Maharashtra submitted a maximum of 1306 applications. In this group, Kerala submitted 1250 applications, Uttar Pradesh 586, Karnataka 514, Telangana 376, Gujarat 292, Haryana 274, Tamil Nadu 214, Madhya Pradesh 204, Rajasthan 190, Bihar 136, Assam 104, Delhi 80, West Bengal 84, Jharkhand 56, Uttarakhand 44, Andhra Pradesh 42, Chhattisgarh 34, Manipur 32, and Orissa 12. Ladakh submitted four applications, whereas Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Andaman Nicobar have submitted two each.
In Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, and Uttarakhand, pilgrims were chosen by lottery. Without using lottery, all applications from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh received within their quota were chosen. C.P.S. Bakshi, Joint Secretary (Hajj), Liaqat Ali Afaqi, CEO, NIC representative, and other high officers were present on the occasion of the draw.
The Hajj pilgrims are required to take part in the town-level Hajj training program, which gives them all the knowledge and direction they need to prepare for the pilgrimage. They also need to deposit the advance foreign exchange sum right away from any State Bank of India or Union Bank of India branch into the HCI account. And to assist and lead all of these pilgrims, 466 pilgrim servants will be dispatched to Saudi Arabia this year.
