Srinagar, July 9: The Private Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage operators Saturday demanded increase in their Haj quota from Ministry of External Affairs.
 “J&K is a Muslim majority state. Despite that the private operators get a little share from the overall Hajj quota,” Abdul Rashid Mir, chairman J&K Association of Hajj and Umrah Services told reporters here. 
 He said the Saudi government had provided 1.75 lakh Hajj visas to India this year through Ministry of External Affairs. “The quota has been distributed in the ratio of 2:1 between the Central Hajj Committee and the Private Hajj/Umrah Pilgrimage Operators,” he said.
 However, Mir said the private operators here had got just 300 out of total 7600 visas J&K has been allotted. “We fail to understand why we get fewer visas despite overwhelming Muslim population in this part of the state,” he said.
 The association said the Haj Service was a growing industry and provided job opportunities to a lots of Valley youths.
 “The market for the industry is growing as people opt for better travel facilities to lead to sacred land,” Sheikh Feroz, a member of the association and MD Alkhuddam Hajj and Umrah Company said.
 The association members said their aim was to provide better and comfortable facilities to Hajjis so the government should increase their quota.
 They said, “Other states in India including Delhi get the quota as per the number of tour operators there. But the demand for the visas there is little for obvious reasons so they sell the visas in black.”
 Meanwhile, the association is organizing a Grand Hajj Conference on July 12. “We are inviting the members from Central and State Hajj Committees and Civil Society to this conference,” Mir said.     

Lastupdate on : Sat, 9 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 9 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 10 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST