Big budget push for State Haj Committee

Hyderabad: With an almost 300 per cent increase in the latest State Budget, the Haj Committee gears for the next Haj season. Aiming to provide better accommodations for Hajis and explore the best options, the officials, along with the chairman, are keen to visit Saudi Arabia.

In comparison with the previous budget of 2023–24, the latest was hiked from Rs two to six crores, particularly in wake of problems faced by the Hajis during their pilgrimage. Similar to earlier initiatives where a committee used to visit Saudi Arabia to secure accommodation for the pilgrims beforehand, even this time the Haj Committee is aiming to come up with a panel that will take the foreign tour. “We shall be inspecting the accommodation offered to the Telangana Hajis, like earlier Building Samrakshana Committee during Unified AP. Beside accommodation, we will make sure the transport is up to par so that they have a comfortable journey,” said the chairman, Kushro Pasha Afzal Biyabani.

As part of this, the committee also discussed the matter with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy about a week ago. The committee urged the CM to write to the Union Government and Central Haj Committee about the provision of accommodation for the Hajis from Telangana.

In the latest Haj, about 12,000 pilgrims performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. However, six pilgrims who died were from Telangana, among hundreds of deaths attributed to heatstroke and cardiovascular disease. The Haj Committee, which has received complaints about some Khadimul Hujjaj (Haj volunteers), has also decided to initiate action against these employees volunteering for pilgrimage. “Individuals who have performed well will be recognised, while those with complaints will face disciplinary action. Show cause notices will be issued to around two to three volunteers, and their parent departments will be informed for further action,” explained the chairman after chairing the first meeting of the new committee.