New Delhi:
Pilgrims going for the month-long Haj this year will have to shell out Rs 4,000 more for air fare from the existing Rs 12,000.
Altogether 1,60,491,people will undertake the Haj this year. Of this, 1.15 lakh pilgrims will go under the aegis of the Haj Committee and get the benefit of government subsidy while the remaining will be through private tour operators.
Under the government scheme, each pilgrim will have to pay Rs 16,000 for air fare and rest of the ticket cost will be borne by the government. In 2008, each Haji who went through the Haj Committee had to pay Rs 12,000.
Pilgrims will have two more embarkation points, up from 17, with Ranchi and Mangalore being added this time to facilitate their travel from Jharkhand and Karnataka.
These decisions in relation to Haj pilgrimage beginning on Tuesday were taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Monday, an official spokesman told reporters.
Sources in the Haj Committee, however, said the Cabinet decision on the hike in charges had come late as bookings have already been done at the rate of Rs 12,000. Rest of the amount will now have to be recovered from the pilgrims, they said.
The official spokesman said the Civil Aviation Ministry would be responsible for facilitating air travel for the pilgrims sponsored by the Haj Committee of India.
Air India would operate 137 special flights of Boeing 747-400, Airbus 310 and Airbus 330 aircraft to ferry Haj pilgrims to Jeddah and Madina.