Hajj, Umrah companies in distress

Hit by worst post August 2019 slump, the beleaguered Hajj and Umrah companies in Kashmir are bracing for worse in the wake of worldwide lockdown after covid19 outbreak.

The company owners said that in the post August 2019clampdown period, they were trying to get to their business, but the outbreakof covid19 “has crippled us for the second time in less than a year”.

   

They said since the international flights were discontinuedacross India last month, “thousands of Umrah bookings were cancelled inflictinglosses worth crores of rupees on the sector”.

“In the past few weeks over 100 bookings in my company werecancelled and all the future bookings vanished,” said Javaid Ahmed, owner RajBaba Tours and Travels. “We have already paid for visas, hotels and airtickets; and now both the costumers and the operators are in lurch,” he said.

Ahmed said there are over 100 private Hajj and Umrahoperators in Kashmir “and all of them had their bookings cancelled. We hopethings will be normal soon and everyone will get back to his business”.

The operators said that as per the Saudi Hajj Authorityguidelines, they have been told that no fresh bookings be made unlessinstructed.

“There are hundreds of employees in these companies. Therecould be layoffs given the situation post August 2019. There is no hope for anyfresh bookings due to covid19 scare,” said another Umrah company operator.

Following the growing COVID-19 cases in India, Governmentlast month banned all international flights to and from India to curb thespread.Saudi Arabia also suspended round the year Umrahpilgrimage from the first week of March in order to tackle the COVID-19outbreak in the country. The suspension of holy pilgrimage led to cancellationof Umrah booking in Kashmir and all over the world.

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