As per the new Haj policy, all pilgrims were given the choice of selecting two embarkation points (EPs). On the basis of their first choice, all 100% of pilgrims were accommodated in the EPs of their own preference. But this option seems to be only on paper as very few pilgrims were allowed a change in the EPs.
Abdul Bari Masoud | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — At 20 of the country’s 25 embarkation points, the initial phase of the journey of Indian Hajis to Saudi Arabia got underway on May 21. However, the unjustified and outrageous price hike at a majority of embarkation ports (EPs) has infuriated pilgrims. There was also a mess at some embarkation points as without assigning any reason several chartered flights were cancelled at the last moment.
Contrary to Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani’s assertion that the cost per pilgrim has decreased by Rs 90,000, the Central Haj Committee is charging each pilgrim over Rs 4 lakh from the EPs. This amount is exclusive of foreign exchange money.
A plea contesting a sharp increase in the cost has also been filed in the Aurangabad division of the Bombay High Court.
Huge differences in Haj charges can be judged from the fares fixed at different EPs. For example, if a pilgrim is taking a flight from Mumbai, he/she has to pay Rs 3.05 lakh while from Aurangabad, just 400 km away from Mumbai, the fare is fixed at Rs 3.93 lakh and for Nagpur, another EP in Maharashtra, it’s Rs 3.72 lakh. And from Guwahati, the cost is Rs 4.39 lakh.
There is a huge gap of Rs 88,000.
Likewise, travelling from Hyderabad and Bangalore costs Rs 3.05 lakh and Rs 3.04 lakh per pilgrim respectively. In contrast, from Srinagar, Gaya (Bihar) and Guwahati the charges are Rs 3.95 lakh, over Rs 4 lakh and 4.39 lakh respectively.
Because of the exorbitant charges at most of the EPs many applicants have sought changes in their routes. Many of them are dissatisfied and desirous of changing their EPs. For example, 3,266 pilgrims will embark from Nagpur airport but they can’t afford to spend an extra Rs 67, 000 when they can make the pilgrimage from Mumbai for less money.
Reports on social media claim that about 117 pilgrims from Yavatmal district wanted a change in their embarkation point from Nagpur to Mumbai.
Anis Ahmad, a former minister for minority affairs in Maharashtra, told Clarion India that there used to be a disparity of 15 to 20 thousand rupees between each EP. Poor pilgrims are being blatantly exploited in this way, forcing them to pay exorbitant charges, he added.
In Aurangabad, on behalf of 64 Haj pilgrims, attorney Syed Tausif Yaseen has filed the petition. Yaseen claimed that the petitioners objected to the Haj Committee of India’s May 6, 2023 circular asking for an additional Rs 88,000. According to the appeal, the intended Hajis were kept in the dark until the very last minute about the increased expenses. The petition argued that in 2019, the fare difference between the embarkation ports in Mumbai and Aurangabad was only Rs 10,500.
Normally, it costs just Rs 3,500 to go from Mumbai to Aurangabad. The Bombay High Court’s single bench took notice of the case and has ordered the Haj Committee to provide an explanation for the significant hike in the cost for the Aurangabad EP before June 12. However, the bench asked them to deposit the third and final payment for Haj charges. Aurangabad was not designated as the EP for Haj pilgrims in 2020, 2021, or 2022.
Many Hajis are now in a terrible situation as a result of this added expense. Several pilgrims at Delhi airport told Clarion India about the many problems they had to face.
Meanwhile, direct flights from Guwahati to Jeddah have been “scrapped,” putting elderly and first-timer pilgrims from Assam and other northeast states in a difficult situation.
Around 4,000 pilgrims were to board the flights at Guwahati, but they were asked to embark from Delhi or Mumbai. However, after much protest, the Guwahati EP was restored. On June 5, 150 people will travel as part of the first group of pilgrims from the northeast, departing for Madinah in Saudi Arabia from Guwahati’s Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport. From June 6 till June 17, two planes per day will depart for Madinah. A total of 3,451 pilgrims, excluding Manipur this season, will travel to Makkah from the northeastern states.
Speaking to the media, Nekibur Zaman, chairman of the Joint State Haj Committee and the Northeast Haj Pilgrims Reception Committee, said that the Haj pilgrimage was postponed in 2020 and 2021 owing to Covid-19. This time, there are 2,366 men, 1,083 women, and 2 children among the pilgrims.
The problems faced by the pilgrims are contrary to Smriti Irani’s assertion that her ministry has worked to lessen the financial burden on the intending Hajis. Confronted by Clarion India, the minister said the pilgrims have consistently asked for designated embarkation ports to be established near their individual points of departure in as many states as was feasible.
It was decided in the Haj Policy-2023 to designate 25 EPs for Haj 2023. Accordingly, bids for air charter arrangements were called for at all 25 EPs. Bids were received for only 22 EPs, out of which 10 EPs were successfully bid by GoAir, which however subsequently became insolvent.
It seems the main reason behind the steep increase in fares is that GoAir declared itself bankrupt. Presently, pilgrims are proceeding for Haj from 20 EPs. As many as eight air companies including Vistara, Spicejet, AIX, Flydeal, Indigo, Air India, Saudia, and Flynas have been assigned the task of transporting the pilgrims.
As per the new Haj policy, all pilgrims were given the choice of selecting two EPs. On the basis of their first choice, all 100% of pilgrims were accommodated in the EPs of their own preference. But this option seems to be only on paper as very few pilgrims were allowed a change in the EPs.
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File photo used for illustrative purposes