route: Naqvi(Eds: With more info, adding quotes)New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) Paving way for the Centre to makeavailable a cheaper mode of transport for Haj pilgrims, SaudiArabia has given its nod to India's plan to revive the optionof ferrying devotees to Jeddah via sea route, 23 years afterthe practice was stopped.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqviconfirmed the development in a statement after he and SaudiArabia's Haj and Umrah Minister Mohammad Saleh bin TaherBenten signed a bilateral annual agreement regarding thepilgrimage in Mecca yesterday.
Terming his meeting with Benten "very fruitful", Naqvisaid officials from both the countries will discuss thetechnicalities involved so that the pilgrimage via sea routecan be commissioned in the coming years.
"Saudi Arabia has given its nod to revive the option ofsending pilgrims by sea route... Officials from both thecountries will discuss all the necessary formalities andtechnicalities so that Haj pilgrimage through sea route can bestarted in the coming years," the statement quoted Naqvi assaying.
However, it did not specify the year when the option forpilgrimage via sea route would be opened. As of now, devoteescan travel to Saudi Arabia for performing Haj only by air.
The "revolutionary, pro-poor and pilgrim-friendly"decision of sending devotees through sea route will help cutdown travel expenses "significantly", Naqvi said.
The government has been weighing the option of openingthe sea route in the light of a 2012 Supreme Court order toabolish by 2022 the subsidy offered to Haj pilgrims who travelby air.
Ministry sources, however, said air services to Jeddahwould continue to be available for those who can afford thejourney. India has a Haj quota of 1.70 lakh.
It used to take nearly 12-15 days for pilgrims to reachJeddah in Saudi Arabia from Yellow Gate in Mumbai's Mazgaonbefore the sea route was closed in 1995, sources said.
Naqvi said with the availability of modern and well-equipped ships -- which can ferry 4,000 to 5,000 persons at atime -- the 2,300-odd nautical miles one-side distance betweenMumbai and Jeddah can now be covered within just three to fourdays.
The minister said for the first time, Muslim women fromIndia will go to Haj without 'Mehram' (male companion) andseparate accommodation and transport have been arranged forthem.
"Woman Haj assistants will be deployed for them," hesaid, adding more than 1,300 women have applied to go for Hajwithout 'Mehram' and of them will be exempted from lotterysystem and allowed to proceed for the pilgrimage.
According to the new Haj policy of India, women above 45years of age, who wish to go for Haj but who don't have a malecompanion, are allowed to travel for Haj in groups of four ormore.
The Haj Committee of India has received around 3,59,000applications for Haj 2018. For the first time, we have givenchoice to Haj pilgrims to opt for another nearest embarkationpoint, Naqvi said.
This will ensure that there is no financial burden on Hajpilgrims even after removal of Haj subsidy. This decision hasreceived overwhelming response, the statement said. PTI ENMNSD.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.