Telangana, Andhra Pradesh get 5,005 Haj quota

A little over 5,000 pilgrims from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will perform Haj this year.

The Haj Committee of India has allotted a quota of 2,760 pilgrims for Telangana and 2,245 pilgrims for Andhra Pradesh.

India's Haj quota for 2015 was fixed at 1,36,020 in the annual agreement reached last with Saudi Arabia.

S.A. Shukoor, special officer, Telangana State Haj Committee, announced here on Monday that the committee received 16,963 applications, out of which 1,537 intending pilgrims were selected without 'qurrah' or draw of lots.

He said the applicants selected include 643 intending pilgrims of over 70 years of age and 894 applicants who had applied for the fourth time. For the remaining 1,223 seats, 'qurrah' will be held among 15,426 applicants on March 18.

Similarly in Andhra Pradesh, 222 intending pilgrims were selected under two reserved categories without 'qurrah'. For the remaining 2,023 seats, 'qurrah' will be conducted among 3,618 candidates.