Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, May 25: 5,576 from out of 16,588 aspirants from the state were selected for Haj pilgrimage through lottery system by the state Haj Committee here on Monday May 24.

The process was initiated by home minister, Dr V S Acharya and Wakf and minority welfare minister, Prof Mumtaz Ali Khan, at a programme organized in the banquet hall of the Vidhan Soudha here, in the presence of religious leaders. The number of Haj pilgrims for each state is decided on the basis of the quota allotted by the Central Haj Committee. This quota was again distributed among the districts, based on the district-wise population of Muslims.

All the applicants from Koppal, Yadagiri and Haveri districts got chosen, as the number of applications received from them was less than the quotas allotted to them.

The committee has also chosen 279 persons additionally, as a possible replacement for those applicants who may not take the pilgrimage at the last minute. 234 applicants, who have been making applications since the last three years, were chosen directly. Haj Committee president, Mohammed Ghouse Basha Ashrafi, said that all the chosen pilgrims should pay Rs 30,700 to the Haj Committee by July 6 and also submit their international passports before August 31.