Haj Committee chairman C. Mohammed Faizi has demanded that the Haj quota allocated to States by the Centre be revised in accordance with the number of applicants.
Addressing mediapersons here on Tuesday, Mr. Faizi said he was unhappy with the current system of quota allocation.
“The Haj quota should be in proportion to the number of applicants from each State, and not in accordance with the total population. There were 60,000-odd applicants from Kerala this year,” he said, adding that he had approached the Central Haj Committee with the demand to revise the quota accordingly.
Mr. Faizi, who assumed charge last month, said he would try to bring the Haj embarkation point back to Karipur.
Haj operations were shifted to Nedumbassery three years ago after Karipur airport was closed down for repairs and restrictions were imposed on wide-body aircraft at Karipur.
The Haj Committee chairman said that about 85 per cent of the State’s Haj pilgrims were from Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. “They will have to travel a few hours to reach Nedumbassery. This inconvenience should be avoided,” he said.
Mr. Faizi said the Haj House at Karipur should be made use of during the off-season. A project is being prepared for this, he said.
This year’s Haj pilgrims from the State will begin their return journey from August 12. The first batch will reach Nedumbassery at 6 a.m. on August 12.
A team led by Minister for Minority Affairs K.T. Jaleel will receive the first batch of pilgrims at Nedumbassery, he said.