Many Indians opt out of Haj

Performing Haj this year will be costlier for Indian Haj pilgrims thanks to a fragile Indian rupee, cuts in subsidies provided by the Indian government and an increase in the costs of South Asian Haj Establishments in Makkah.
Last year, one US dollar equaled 53 Indian rupees, but now the US dollar is trading in at above 66 rupees.
The fact that exchange rates for Haj pilgrims are decided by converting the value of Saudi riyals into US dollars accounts for the rise in the cost of the Haj pilgrimage.
Earlier estimates had fixed the exchange rate at 14.98 rupees per Saudi riyal, which was later revised to 16.07 rupees.
In all, 136,020 pilgrims are scheduled to arrive from India beginning Sunday, 123,511 of them coming through the Central Haj Committee (CHC), a government agency, and another 34,005 through private tour operators. There are two categories of accommodation available for Indian pilgrims. They are in Aziziah, which is cheaper, and the more expensive Green category.
Pilgrims under the Green category of accommodation paid 179,800 rupees compared to 164,905 last year, and those under the Aziziah category have shelled out 149,450 rupees this year against 136,264 rupees last year.
Unlike neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh, the majority of Indians opt to perform the Haj pilgrimage through the CHC, where Haj pilgrims are selected through a draw of lots. The selected persons are required to pay the charges in two installments.
Many Haj applicants whose names figured in the draw opted out after coming to know of the increase in costs.
In Andhra Pradesh alone, over 400 applicants withdrew from the pilgrimage due to the cost factor. The CHC has extended the deadline to pay the second installment to the first week of August.
Unlike other countries that charge full-fare air tickets, India has a standard policy of subsidizing aviation transport costs for Haj pilgrims.
This year, Air India is charging 28,000 rupees compared to last year’s 20,000 rupees. The Indian government has provided a total of 691 million rupees in Haj subsidies, whereas it spent 836 million rupees last year. The 145-million-rupee deficit has resulted in Haj pilgrims paying 8,000 rupees more in airfare this year.
The Haj subsidy amount is paid to Air India by the government. Several Muslim leaders have criticized the payment of subsidy to Air India since it is an ailing carrier.