Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi inaugurates two-day Training of Trainers programme for Haj 2022 at Haj House, Mumbai

Union Minority Affairs Minister Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi inaugurated a two-day Training of Trainers programme for Haj 2022 at Haj House in Mumbai today. The programme is being attended by 550 trainers, virtually and physically, from different states. Keeping in view the COVID-19 pandemic challenges, the training programme is focused on health and hygiene. Officials from Haj Committee of India; Royal Consulate of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Customs; Immigration, airlines and doctors will educate about the about “Do’s and Don’ts” to be followed during Haj. It includes information about transport, accommodation in Saudi Arabia and laws of Saudi Arabia. The trainers will in turn train the Haj pilgrims in training camps across the country.

Inaugurating the programme in Mumbai today, the Union Minister said Haj 2022 has been planned giving utmost priority to health and well-being of the pilgrims. He added that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the application for Haj 2022 will be digital, which will also make the process transparent, accessible, affordable and convenient.

The Union Minister said that the selection of the pilgrims for Haj 2022 will done on the basis of completion of vaccination, keeping in view the guidelines and criteria laid down by Government of India and Government of Saudi Arabia. More than 51,000 people have so far applied for Haj 2022, this includes more than 1,000 women who have applied under without “Mehram” category.

Shri Naqvi informed that people can apply for Haj online and also through the “Haj Mobile App”.  The “Haj Mobile App” has been upgraded with the tagline “Haj App in Your Hand”, he said. The app contains several new features which include frequently asked questions, information to fill up the application form and videos giving information to applicants to fill up the form in a very simple manner.  The last date for applying for Haj 2022 is 31st January, 2022.

The Minister said that embarkation points for Haj 2022 have been reduced from 21 to 10. For Haj 2022, the 10 embarkation points are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Srinagar. Ahmedabad embarkation point will cover entire Gujarat. Bengaluru embarkation point will cover entire Karnataka and Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. Cochin embarkation point will cover Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.  Delhi embarkation point will cover Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and western districts of Uttar Pradesh. Guwahati embarkation point will cover Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Nagaland.

Hyderabad embarkation point 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 embarkation point will cover Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Srinagar embarkation point will cover Jammu-Kashmir and Leh-Ladakh-Kargil.

Shri Naqvi said that Digital Health Card, “E-MASIHA” health facility, “E-luggage pre-tagging” and all information regarding accommodation / transportation in Makkah-Madinah will be provided to all the Haj pilgrims while they are in India. Arrangements have also been made for special training for pilgrims, regarding COVID-19 protocols.

The Minister informed that more than 3000 women had applied for Haj 2020 and Haj 2021 under without “Mehram” (male companion) category. Their applications will be eligible for Haj 2022 also if they want to go to perform Haj 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.

Joint Secretary in the Union Minority Affairs Ministry, Smt. Nigar Fatima; CGI Jeddah Shri Mohammad Shahid Alam; Haj Committee of India CEO Mohammad Yakoob Shekha and specialists from various hospitals, senior officials from airlines, customs and banking officials were present at the inauguration.