KOZHIKODE, 23 June 2007 — Kerala Haj Committee has so far received more than 15,000 applications and the applicants will be selected on July 9, according to its chairman, Professor A.K. Abdul Hamid.
“Haj Committee alone has distributed 21,000 application forms. We expect to receive at least 5,000 more applications,” Hamid said after a meeting of the committee recently.
The quota based on population figures for Kerala is 6,117. “We expect the Central Haj Committee to enhance the quota on the basis of the number of applicants and not on the basis of population, he said.
Applicants aged 75 or above, along with two attendant relatives, and those who were waitlisted last year will automatically receive permission for pilgrimage.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed said the federal government plans to impose restrictions on unemployed people going to Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas.
