Mumbai, Nov 1 (UNI) Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Monday launched the Haj 2022 online application process and said the Indian Haj pilgrims will be promoting "Vocal for Local" this time as they will carry with them indigenous products to Mecca.
The completely online process of registration will continue till January 31, 2022.
Naqvi was at the Haj House in south Mumbai launching the pilgrimage process that has been on hold since 2020. "Haj pilgrims used to buy bed sheets-pillows-towels, umbrellas and other items in Saudi Arabia in foreign currency. This time, most of these indigenous goods will be bought in India in Indian currency," he said.
While these goods will be available in India at about 50 per cent lower prices in comparison to Saudi Arabia, it will also encourage “Swadeshi” and "Vocal for Local".
He also said that All these items will be given to Haj pilgrims at their respective embarkation points in India.
The selection process of Haj pilgrims will be done according to complete vaccination with both the doses and guidelines and criteria to be decided by Indian and Saudi Arabia governments, keeping in view Covid-19 protocols.
Naqvi said that more than 3,000 women had applied for Haj 2020 and 2021 under without “Mehram” (male companion) category. Their applications will be eligible for Haj 2022 also if they want to perform the pilgrimage in 2022.
Other women can also apply for Haj 2022 under without “Mehram” category. All the women under without “Mehram” category will be exempted from the lottery system.
The entire Haj 2022 process has been made more simple, accessible and transparent, Naqvi said, explaining that it has been chalked out after deliberations among Ministry of Minority Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Haj Committee of India, Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia and India’s Consul General in Jeddah and other agencies keeping in view all aspects of the pandemic challenges.
Naqvi also said the “Haj Mobile App” has been upgraded with the tagline “Haj App In Your Hand”. The app contains several new features which include frequently asked questions, information to fill up the application form, and videos aiding the filling up process.
Naqvi said the embarkation points for Haj 2022 have been reduced from 21 to 10. These are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Srinagar.
Ahmedabad embarkation point will cover entire Gujarat. Bengaluru entire Karnataka and Chittoor for Andhra Pradesh. Cochin will cover Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Andaman & Nicobar.
Delhi embarkation point will cover Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, western districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Guwahati will cover Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Nagaland.
Hyderabad will cover Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Kolkata embarkation point will cover West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Jharkhand and Bihar.
Lucknow embarkation point will cover all parts of Uttar Pradesh except western parts; Mumbai will cover Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
The Srinagar embarkation point will cover Jammu-Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh-Kargil.
Naqvi said the Digital Health Card, “E-MASIHA” health facility and “E-luggage pre-tagging”, providing all information regarding accommodation/transportation in Makkah-Madinah, will be provided to all the Haj pilgrims.
Arrangements for special training for Haj 2022 regarding Covid-19 protocols and health and hygiene have been made in India and Saudi Arabia for the Haj pilgrims.
The Haj pilgrimage could not take place in 2020 and this year due to Covid-19 and decision taken by the Saudi Arabia government. Naqvi said that India sends the second largest group of Haj pilgrims after Indonesia.
UNI AAA