10,000 Indians Get Haj Go-Ahead as Saudi Reopens Portal

 New Delhi: After India took up the matter, Saudi Arabia has agreed to reopen the Haj portal (Nusuk portal) to combined Haj group operators (CHGOs), or private tour operators, to complete their formalities so that 10,000 Indian pilgrims, based on the current space availability in Mina, can undertake the pilgrimage this year.

Following a huge controversy, the Union government on Tuesday said that earlier “despite reminders, the CHGOs had failed to comply with the necessary timelines set by the Saudi authorities and had failed to finalise the mandatory contracts, including for Mina camps, accommodation and transport of pilgrims, as required under the Saudi regulations”.

A controversy had been raging after certain political leaders, especially from Jammu and Kashmir, said that the Haj of more than 50,000 Indians who were to be facilitated through CHGOs was in jeopardy. India, meanwhile, said it “would naturally appreciate any gesture by Saudi authorities to accommodate more pilgrims” as uncertainty seemed to persist over the pilgrimage of thousands of other Indians which were to be facilitated by these private tour operators.

India has a Haj quota of about 1.75 lakh pilgrims, out of which about 1.22 lakh are facilitated by the Union government’s ministry of minority affairs through the Haj Committee of India. The balance of the quota (about 52,500 pilgrims) “was allotted, as is customary, to private tour operators”.

The Centre said that “due to changes in Saudi guidelines, more than 800 private tour operators were consolidated into 26 legal entities termed CHGOs this year”. The Union government added that “addressing legal challenges, the Haj quota was allocated to these 26 CHGOs well in advance”, despite which the operators failed to complete their obligations, necessitating Indian government intervention.

“The government of India accords high priority for Indian Muslims to undertake the annual Haj pilgrimage… The government of India has been continuously engaging on this matter with the concerned Saudi authorities, including at the ministerial level. The Saudi Haj ministry highlighted its concerns for the safety of the pilgrims, particularly in Mina, where the Haj rituals have to be completed under extreme summer heat conditions in a limited space. It also underlined that due to delays, the available space in Mina became occupied. The Saudi authorities have further conveyed that they were not extending the timelines for any country this year,” the Indian government stated on Tuesday.

The government added: “Due to the government’s intervention, the Saudi Haj ministry has agreed to reopen the Haj portal to all CHGOs to complete their work in respect of 10,000 pilgrims based on the current space availability in Mina. Directions have been issued by MoMA to CHGOs to do so urgently."