New Delhi, November 7: The Indian government on Saturday announced the Hajj 2021 guidelines for Muslims in the country who intend to undertake the holy pilgrimage next year. The online application process started from today, announced Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The last date for submitting the online form is December 10, he said. Saudi Arabia Allowed Only 1,000 Muslims For Pilgrimage in 2020.

While announcing Haj 2021 at Haj House, Mumbai today, Naqvi said that national-international Protocol Guidelines due to Pandemic Position will be implemented and followed strictly during the Haj 2021. The last date of applying for Haj 2021 is 10th December, 2020. The people can apply online, offline and through Haj Mobile App.

Naqvi said that Haj 2021 is scheduled for June-July 2021, and the entire Haj process is being held according to the necessary guidelines issued by the Saudi Arabia Government and the Government of India in view of Corona Pandemic to ensure health and well-being of the people in India and Saudi Arabia. The Haj 2021 process 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 said that the arrangements for Haj 2021 have been made under special circumstances with special norms, rules and regulations, eligibility criteria, age restrictions, health and fitness requirements and other relevant conditions of the Saudi Arabia Government amid the Corona pandemic.

Naqvi said that the entire Haj travel process has been done with significant changes in view of the pandemic. These include accommodation, period of stay of pilgrims, transportation, health and other facilities both in India and Saudi Arabia.

Naqvi said that all the necessary guidelines for Haj 2021 amid Pandemic position from the Saudi Arabia Government will be implemented strictly. There may be changes in age criteria for performing Haj due to the Corona pandemic. Each pilgrim will have to undergo Corona test 72 hours before Haj journey as per prevailing international air travel protocol.  Each pilgrim will have to submit a PCR test certificate issued by approved laboratory with a negative result before journey to Saudi Arabia.

Naqvi said that keeping in view the Pandemic position and feedback received from Air India and other agencies, embarkation points for Haj 2021 have been reduced to 10. Earlier, there were 21 Haj embarkation points across the country. For Haj 2021, the 10 embarkation points are- Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Srinagar.

Ahmedabad embarkation point will cover entire Gujarat; Bengaluru will cover entire Karnataka; Cochin (Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar); Delhi (Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh; Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, western districts of Uttar Pradesh); Guwahati (Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland); Kolkata (West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Jharkhand, Bihar); Lucknow (all parts of Uttar Pradesh except western parts); Mumbai (Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli) and Srinagar embarkation point will cover Jammu-Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh-Kargil.

The application filled for Haj 2020 by women under without “Mehram” (male companion) category is valid for Haj 2021 also. Besides new forms are also being accepted from the women, who wants to perform Haj 2021 without “Mehram”. All the women under “without Mehram” category will be exempted from the lottery system.

Royal Vice Consul General of Saudi Arabia in Mumbai, Mohammad Abdul Karim Al-Enazi; senior officials of Union Ministry of Minority Affairs; Haj Committee of India CEO M. A. Khan and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

(With PIB Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 07, 2020 06:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).