KOZHIKODE: BJP national vice-president AP Abdullakutty has been selected as the chairman of Central Hajj Committee. He was selected in the Hajj committee meeting held in New Delhi on Friday as the representative of the Union government. Kerala State Hajj Committee chairman C Muhammed Faizi has been selected as a member.
This year the state has been allotted a quota of 5,747 seats to perform Hajj through government channel. Till Friday noon, as many as 12,800 applications have been received, according to the office of the state Hajj committee. In 2019, close to 13,000 people had performed Hajj through government channel from the state out of the 96,000 applicants received. There was no Hajj in the last two years owing to Covid. Though there was a big demand to make Kozhikode an embarkation point, Kochi will be the only embarkation point in the state this year, Abdullakutty said.
This year, Saudi Arabia has allowed only those below the age of 65 to perform the holy ritual. According to sources, Kerala will get more seats once the vacant seats allotted to other states are transferred to it. The applicants will be selected through a draw of lots which will be held between April 28 and 30.