Digital process fulfilled ''Haj dream'' of Indian Muslims: Naqvi

The digital/online Haj process has fulfilled the dream of "Ease of doing Haj" for the Indian Muslims, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in Mumbai on Monday.

Addressing a training programme of Haj 2020 trainers at Haj House in south Mumbai, Naqvi said the unprecedented reforms undertaken by the Modi government ensured that the entire Haj process has been made digital and transparent and the Haj pilgrimage has become affordable.

Making the Haj process 100 per cent digital/online has removed middlemen ensuring Haj pilgrimage becomes affordable in comparison to the cost incurred in last several decades, he said. Even after removal of Haj subsidy, no additional financial burden has been put on the pilgrims, Naqvi said.

India has become the first country to make the entire Haj 2020 process 100 per cent digital, he said.

Online application, e-visa, Haj mobile app, E-MASIHA health facility, E-luggage pre-tagging providing information in India itself regarding accommodation/transportation in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina have been provided to Indian Muslims going for Haj, he said.

For the first time, facilities have been provided for digital pre-tagging of baggages of Haj pilgrims, he said.

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Linking SIM card to the mobile app ensures Haj pilgrims immediately get the latest information regarding Haj in Mecca-Medina on their mobile phone, he said.

Haj Group Organisers (HGOs) have also been connected with the 100 per cent digital system which has ensured transparency in their functioning and this has also led to better facilities to Indian Haj pilgrims. A portal (http://haj.nic.in/pto) for Haj Group Organisers has been developed. It contains details of HGOs and their packages, he said.

India in coordination with Saudi Arabia is working to ensure safety and better medical facilities for the pilgrims during Haj 2020, he said. This year, a total of two lakh Indian Muslims will perform Haj, that too without any subsidy, he said.

About 1.23 lakh Muslims will go through Haj Committee of India and remaining through Haj Group Organisers, he said. This year over 2100 Muslim women will go to Haj without Mehram (male companion), he said.

A total of 650 trainers participated in the training programme. They will train Haj pilgrims in their respective states regarding the pilgrimage, accommodation in Mecca and Medina, transport, health facilities and safety measures.

The trainers include a large number of women trainers. Officials from the Haj Committee of India, Customs, Air India, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, various banks and disaster management agencies guided the trainers.

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