AP gets 3,000 Haj quota

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Haj Committee Chairman Momin Ahmed Hussain on Thursday said the Central Haj committee allotted Andhra Pradesh a quota of 3,000 pilgrims and appealed to the Muslims to utilise the quota for the annual holy pilgrimage. He said the Muslims in Telangana state were utilising the quota fully while Andhra Pradesh Muslims are not using it.

He appealed to the Muslims to travel to Haj with provisions made by Haj Committee instead of arrangements made by private travel agencies. In a press release, the chairman of committee Momin Ahmed said Haj pilgrimage conducted by Central Haj Committee was very economical compared to the arrangements made by private agents. He said the pilgrimage expenses will be Rs 2.50 lakh only if they travel with provisions of Haj Committee while the private agents collect over Rs 4 lakh for the pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

He said the last date for submission of applications for the annual Haj pilgrimage is November 17. He informed that nearly 500 devotees visited Holy Makkah through private travels in the state in the previous year and suggested the pilgrims to save money by travelling through the Haj Committee provisions.

He further said the applicant’s passport validity should be till January 31, 2020. The applicants with more than 70 years of age are considered as reserved category and should have born before November 18, 1948. Applicants who complete 70 years of age by November 17, 2018 are under the reserved category and can go directly without related to draw. He said Muslims who can afford Haj pilgrimage financially have to perform the ritual once in a lifetime without fail.