Covid threat upsets Haj plans, Ranchiites pin hope on getting preference next year

Ranchi: The Haj Committee of India (HCI) recently decided to refund the advance amount paid by pilgrims who want to cancel their Haj trip in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The HCI took this decision after it received no assurance from the Saudi Arabian government regarding the annual pilgrimage.
A letter in this regard was issued by HCI on June 5 directing the executive officers of Haj committees of all state and Union territories to take the necessary steps.
Chaudhry Hassanuzzaman, a retired engineer who was supposed to take the pilgrimage along with his wife this year, said: “Haj has always been an emotional matter and not about money. I would request the government to give us preference while drawing up the list for next year, if Haj gets cancelled this year owing to the corona threat.”
Many others who registered themselves for the pilgrimage said they would wait for some more time before taking any decision on their trip.
Shamim Ansari, a 61-year-old resident of Irba, said: “We cannot blame the government if the pilgrimage gets cancelled this year. I will be disappointed for sure if it happens, but then one can only make the pilgrimage if the Almighty is willing.”
Professor M H Ansari, who has also registered for the annual pilgrimage, said: “I do not have any information on cancellation of Haj 2020, but the situation is such that I won’t be surprised if the trip gets shelved this time.”
Several others said they do not want a refund but would prefer to go on Haj once the situation returns to normal.
The Haj flights from India to Saudi Arabia were scheduled to commence from June 25 and the 40-day pilgrimage would have ended by August 2.
The state Haj committee officials said that till now they have received 36 cancellation requests. “A total of 2,281 people had registered from the state for Haj 2020,” Khurshid Anwar, PRO of the state Haj Committee, said.