DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand state government has decided to withdraw the lottery system for those applying for Hajj to Mecca-Medina from nine districts in the state. Sources said that the decision was taken following Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat’s instructions.
Shamim Alam, chairman of Uttarakhand Hajj Committee said, “We have decided to do away with ‘Kurrandazi’ (lottery system) for people of hill districts. The number of applicants is already low in these districts so it’s not relevant.”
Earlier, after applications came, the lottery system was used to decide the number of devotees to visit the sacred towns of Saudi Arabia. Till date, 2,348 applications have been filed from all 13 districts of the hill state and 95 happen to be pending for paperwork and approval.
The last date to apply for the Hajj is December 17, 2019. The officials from the committee said that the list of selected people from other districts through the lottery system will be available in January 2020.
Senior Citizens above 70-years of age are already exempted from the lottery system.