Mumbai: The Haj Committee of India with the help of various State Haj Committees is set to complete Hajj Qurrah - draw for selection of Haj pilgrims, in the first week of January, 2018.
According to Haj 2018 plan released by the Haj Committee of India earlier, the Haj Qurrah will be held in various state headquarters and final list will be submitted to the Haj Committee of India Central office in Mumbai.
The Haj Qurrah, Haj Draw, for the pilgrims going to Hajj from Maharashtra will be held at Hajj House in Mumbai.
The Haj Committee of India has already computerised the entire procedure and hence the Hajj Qurrah 2018 will be done with the help of software.
The Haj Committee of India had earlier begun receiving Haj Application Form from November 15, 2017. The last date was initially set as December 07. It was later extended to December 22.
This is the first time women pilgrims will perform Haj without Mehram - male guardian. The move has been possible after the Saudi Government amended the norms for issuing visa to women pilgrims. Earlier the Saudi Haj Ministry was issuing visa to women pilgrims only when they were accompanied by male guardian.
However according to the new rule, women haj pilgrims if they are above 45 years of age and are applying in a group of 4-5, they will be issued visa in the absence of mehram.
Some 1300 women from India have applied this year with a request to perform Haj without mehram or male guardian.
According to Haj 2018 plan, the first Haj Charter flight will depart from India on July 07, 2018 whereas the first inbound flight from Saudi Arabia to India will be August 24, 2018. "Detailed Haj flight schedule will be released later on", the Haj Committee of India said.
The 2018 Haj Action Plan, and all dates and schedule have been decided keeping in mind the Youme Arafa 2018 - Arafat Day 2018 or the Haj Day 2018 on August 20, 2018 (tentative).
The Haj Committee of India has also enabled the link for the applicants to check Cover Number for Haj 2018.
There are two options to check cover number. One is by entering Passport Number and the other is directly entering Haj Cover Number received while submitting the application to confirm registration.
Haj Cover Number is important as all communications, Haj Draw or Qurrah and Hajj accommodation and travel arrangements are made using Cover Number as reference.
Applicants should note that Hajj 2018 Flight Schedule from all embarkation points will be released by the Haj Committee of India only after the process of the Haj Qurrah is completed.
India has been allocated based on population of Muslims in the country a Haj quota of around 1.70 lakh by Saudi Government. Out of them, pilgrims numbering 70% of the total quota will go through the Haj Committee of India, rest all opt for Private Tour Operators (PTOs) to travel to Makkah and perform Haj.
The Qurrah or Draw is held because of number of application received by the Haj Committee of India exceeds the allotted quota.
Meanwhile, cases seeking on Haj Qurrah have also been filed in the Supreme Court of India and High Courts in some states against the Haj 2018 Policy. Hence the Haj Qurrah can be delayed if the petitioners get a stay from the court.