The Hadj Committee met for the first time, this afternoon in Port Louis, in view of the upcoming Hadj Pilgrimage. The Committee, which aimed at taking stock of all necessary arrangements to be made for Mauritian pilgrims to attend the Hadj Pilgrimage, was co-chaired by the Vice Prime Minister (VPM), Minister of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management, Dr Anwar Husnoo, and the Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mr Avinash Teeluck.
In a statement, VPM Husnoo highlighted those discussions with concerned stakeholders focussed on various issues previously encountered for the Hadj Pilgrimage. He underscored that the pilgrimage will be different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia making arrangements for only some one million pilgrims this year as compared to three million in the past.
Dr Husnoo indicated that additional details are expected to be received shortly so that the Committee can better organise the pilgrimage. As far as the overall cost per pilgrim is concerned, he remarked that the amount of Rs 300,000 is not an accurate figure and stressed that the exact amount has yet to be finalised. Same is being worked out and will be communicated in the near future, he underlined.
For his part, Minister Teeluck recalled that the Hadj Committee was set up following a request from Prime Minister Jugnauth so as to monitor the organisation of the Hadj Pilgrimage 2022. He observed that VPM Husnoo and himself had discussions with members of the Islamic Cultural Centre as well as with Dr Zouberr Joomaye and other stakeholders, while Ambassador Showkutally Soodhun is monitoring the negotiations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He pointed out that, this year, several changes have been brought at the level of the organisation overseeing the Hadj Pilgrimage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and that all aspects of the Hadj Pilgrimage will be looked into by the Committee so as to enable Mauritian pilgrims to have a safe pilgrimage in the best conditions possible.
