The Telangana State Haj Committee (TSHC) will enter into a MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government for making arrangements for the journey of its pilgrims for Haj-2015. Since AP is yet to set up its own Haj Committee, the responsibility of taking care of its pilgrims devolves on the TSHC. Minority Welfare secretaries of both the States are expected to ink the pact shortly since the process of issue of applications for Haj-2015 is expected to begin from January 15.
The TSHC will be saddled with the additional responsibility for the next few years as AP doesn’t have an international airport yet. Even after formation of the AP Haj Committee, pilgrims from the neighbouring State will continue to fly from the Hyderabad embarkation point, officials say.
The AP government has already issued orders making the TSHC special officer, S.A. Shukoor, the executive officer of the APSHC. During Haj-2014 also, AP pilgrims flew from Hyderabad even though the State had been bifurcated by then.
Meanwhile, the TSHC has written to the Central Haj Committee and the Ministry of External Affairs to allot ‘TS’ symbol for the Telangana pilgrims ‘cover numbers’ as under the united State pilgrims went under the ‘AP’ symbol. It has also submitted the percentage of Muslim population of both the States so that the ‘qurrah’ (draw of lots) could be held on its basis. Muslims account for 52 per cent population in Telangana and 48 per cent in AP.
For the first time, the TSHC will hold two separate ‘qurrahs’ for selection of Telangana and AP pilgrims. “The Haj flights will commence sometime in September. The schedule is yet to come,” said Prof. Shukoor.
