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50pc cut in quota for UAE Haj pilgrims

The decision was announced on May 19 following a meeting attended by Dr Hamdan Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Authority and Dr Mattar Al Kaabi, Director General of the Authority.

The meeting was held to honour 140 Haj contractors for the good services they provided during the last Haj season.

While 28,000 pilgrims from the UAE had performed Haj last year, this year, only 13,500 pilgrims will be able to do so. As per the decision, some 214 Haj operators will carry 7,000 nationals and 6,500 expatriates from the UAE to the holy lands to perform Haj.

The Haj package has been classified in four categories — private (which takes 44 national pilgrims and 100 residents), first class (30 nationals and 72 residents), second class (15 nationals and 36 residents) and third class (31 nationals and 14 residents).

Earlier, Haj contractors had warned that any sharp reduction in the quota of UAE pilgrims would proportionately hike the Haj cost. The Haj contractors had said that the pilgrims would have to bear the costs of services ranging from housing in the holy cities of Makkah and Medina to land transport between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, tents in Mina and Arafat, and the payment of wages to workers.

Nasser Al Nuaimi, a Haj operator reiterated: "Earlier, the cost of Haj pilgrimage by land ranged between Dh8,000 and Dh12,000. Now, with the steep cut in the quota, this could shoot up to Dh25,000 in the third class category (14 residents and 31 nationals).

• UAE