Kozhikode: The Hajj Committee of India has announced hajj packages for the current year. As per the announcement, pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia from Kozhikode airport will have to pay the highest amount compared to other embarkation points in Kerala. Apart from Kozhikode's Karipur airport, Kannur and Kozhikode are the boarding points for hajj pilgrims. As per the circular, each pilgrim travelling for hajj via Kozhikode, the favoured embarkation point for pilgrims from the Malabar region, has to pay Rs 3.73 lakh. For those travelling through Kochi airport, the fee fixed is Rs 3,37,100 each, while for Kannur airport it is Rs 3.38 lakh.
The variations within the state are due to the difference in the flight tickets. In Kerala, Karipur airport handles the largest number of hajj pilgrims. Hajj is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to the Holi city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It's a mandatory religious duty for physically and financially capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime.
As per the Hajj Committee's circular, pilgrims from Guwahati in Assam, Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh and Gaya in Bihar have to pay over Rs 4 lakh. The travel via Gaya is the costliest at Rs 4,11,600. The circular said the amount calculated was tentative. “It may increase or decrease based on actual expenditure incurred,” the document stated.
Pilgrims, who have deposited the advance and second instalment, should pay the balance amount on or before April 27. The rituals of the Hajj begin on the eighth day of Dhul Hajj and end on the 12th or 13th day of the month. Muslims celebrate Eid ul Adha on the 10th day of Dhul-Hajj.