Ai generated representational photo.
New Delhi: More than 52,000 Indians, which accounts for 80 per cent of Indian pilgrims under private quota, may not be able to perform Haj this year. A fresh circular issued by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs informed us that only 20 per cent of the private quota that was already booked would be confirmed initially. The rest, which forms the lion’s share of pilgrims, those who registered under the Combined Haj Group Organisers (CHGOs), might not be able to perform the pilgrimage, Vartha Bharathi reported.
This comes after the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah blocked access to the Nusuk portal, an online platform run by Saudi Arabia to finalise contracts and services for pilgrims. Also, the authorities cancelled Mina Zones 1 and 2, which had been allotted to CHGOs, while the remaining zones are being held up.
When the Ministry of Minority Affairs blamed private tour operators for the lapse, a private tour operator told Vartha Bharati that lapses were made by the government’s side. Last year, Saudi authorities made changes to the procedure, asking private operators to deposit their payments through the government channel, and the government had to deposit the amount to Saudi authorities. Before 2024, private operators used to make payments directly from their accounts to Saudi authorities.
Though the majority of these operators have transferred their payment to the Indian government, the government is yet to deposit the amount to Saudi authorities, the private operator said.
However, the operator adds that a few operators might have delayed their payments to the Indian government.
The operator alleged that the Indian government, waiting for the payment from all the operators, delayed the payment to Saudi authorities, which led to the closure of payment channels to Saudi. It is because of the Indian government’s negligence that all the operators, including those who have done their part correctly, are facing difficulty now.