Acche Din! Haj pilgrims get major relief after govt announced significant reduction in airfare

New Delhi, February 28: In a bid to bring down the expenses for Haj pilgrimage, the government of India on Tuesday announced a significant reduction in airfares for pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia, with the prices of round tickets being slashed ranges between Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 97,000.

 

Notably, the move of slashing airfares comes a month after the centre scrapped subsidies that were given to Haj pilgrims and vowed to enroll the same amount in the education of minorities in a bid to empower them.

As of now, there will be a reduction of 18-49 percent rates will be available on tickets for Jeddah and Medina on national carrier Air India, Saudia and Flynas, an air carrier based in Saudi Arabia. The maximum difference of about Rs 97,000 is on the Srinagar fare.

A round ticket from the Kashmir city cost Rs 1,98,350 in 2014 and will now come for Rs 1,01,400. The minimum cut of around Rs 20,000 will be on a ticket from Varanasi, which is down from Rs 1,12,300 to Rs 92,004. Likewise, the airfare from Ahmedabad, Delhi and Mumbai airports will now cost Rs 65,015, Rs 71,853 and Rs 57,857 respectively.

As soon as the prices were slashed, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi described the move as a major step that would end the political and economic exploitation of Haj performers as was being done during the Congress-led UPA regime in the name of offering subsidies. Minister Naqvi also added that the move sought to address concerns about airfares going up after the Haj subsidy was abolished last month.

Minister Naqvi talking to media said that the PMO took a keen interest in bringing down the rates. The decision is in line with our empowerment without appeasement policy. “After the abolition of subsidies, the government had asked the airlines not to charge undue fares from Haj pilgrims,” he added.

Haj pilgrims can leave from 20 embarkation points (EPs). Indore is another EP but there are no devotees flying out from the Madhya Pradesh city this year. Air India will serve pilgrims from seven EPs including Chennai, Goa, Mumbai, Nagpur, Varanasi, Kolkata and Srinagar. Saudi Airlines will transport pilgrims from another seven that includes New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Cochin, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Lucknow. Pilgrims from Aurangabad, Bhopal, Gaya, Guwahati, Mangalore and Ranchi can travel by Flynas.

In the month of January this year, the central government scrapped subsidy given to Haj pilgrims and vowed to enroll the same amount in the education of minorities in a bid to empower them. The subsidy was scrapped in accordance with a Supreme Court order. In 2012, the Supreme Court directed the Union government to gradually reduce and abolish Haj subsidy by 2022. The apex court also asked the government to invest the subsidy amount of approximately Rs 650 crore a year then on the educational and social development of the community.

Importantly, Saudi Arabia has increased India's Haj quota by 5,000 taking the number of pilgrims who can perform Haj from the country to 1,75,025. Earlier, on January 8 of this year, Saudi Arabia gave its nod to India's plan to revive the option of ferrying Haj pilgrims via sea route to Jeddah. Last year, Saudi Arabia increased India's Haj quota by 34,500 which was the biggest hike in nearly three decades.