Applications from Karnataka for Hajj decline drastically

coastaldigest.com web desk
November 26, 2018

Bengaluru, Nov 26: The number of Hajj aspirants from Karnataka has drastically declined this year as the State Haj Committee so far received less than 6,000 aplifications, below the State’s quota for Hajj (which is 6,624 based on the 2011 Census).

It appears that for the first time in at least 10 years, the number of applications for Hajj 2019 may not cross 15,000.

With the Karnataka and a few other State Haj committees requesting the Hajj Committee of India to extend the deadline to submit applications, the last date has now been set as December 12. The old deadline was November 17.

According to the Hajj committee, there has been a declining trend in the number of pilgrims from the last few years.

“Though every year the deadline is extended and most submit applications in the extension period, this time around, the number of applications received within the first deadline has been way below the mark,” said, Syed Ajaz Ahmed, nodal officer, Bengaluru, State Hajj committee.

The decline started in 2016 when there were 25,000 applications. In 2017, the number of applicants dropped to 23,000 and the following year, it was as low as 18,000. “This time we are expecting it to be below 15,000,” he said.

Following the submission of applications, an online lottery will be conducted to select 6,624 pilgrims for the journey to Makkah.

The Union government scrapped the subsidy for the Hajj pilgrimage last year. For a person travelling from Karnataka, the subsidy was Rs 1,400. “This is negligible in terms of the total cost of travel per person which is roughly around Rs 2 lakh. The scrapping of the subsidy has no affect on the numbers,” he said. The committee blames this downward trend on GST and demonetisation.

“While the salaried class is not as affected, many from the business community don’t have enough money to travel. We think this is the main reason for the fall in numbers,” Mr Ahmed said.

Another reason, he said, could be that applications were invited earlier this year.

“Usually, applications are called for in December and January. This year the process started in October itself. That could have contributed to the lower number of applications,” he added.

Comments

hajj is not enjoy trip to travel.. it is a obligatory right to every muslim , whenever he finds capable to it... those who are capable this year surely they will leave this year itself , and others may wait for their capability....

Viggu Vignesh
 - 
Monday, 26 Nov 2018

World's fastest growing religion is Islam. But now Islam not consisting true believers (not all)

Unknown
 - 
Monday, 26 Nov 2018

Why that discrimination?

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News Network
May 5,2020

Mangaluru, May 5: As many as 7,119 labourers, who were stranded in Dakshina Kannada district, were sent to their native places in buses operated by KSRTC’s Mangaluru and Puttur divisions.

After the announcement of lockdown, the stranded labourers were provided shelter in various halls, Town Hall and government hostels in the district.

The stranded labourers from Kuloor, Panjimogaru, Panambur, Baikampady, Yeyyadi, Mulki, Ullal, Bunder, Hoige Bazar and from taluk centres, who wished to take up farming activities in their villages, were sent back in KSRTC and private buses. As many as 266 buses were engaged for ferrying the labourers.

The labourers underwent health check-up prior to their departure to their native villages, Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 6: Cab aggregators are once again in news for the wrong reasons after an Ola cab driver misbehaved with a 34-year-old woman passenger and even threatened to kill her when she raised an alarm.

But what followed was worse. The woman, a software engineer, immediately called the Ola emergency number following which they asked her to check if the driver was drunk. She later pressed the emergency button on the Ola app but received a message asking her to dial 100. After the aggregator failed to help her, she said she was lucky to be saved by the public.

Reacting to the incident, an Ola spokesperson said, “We regret the unfortunate incident and have immediately terminated the driver-partner from the platform upon receiving the complaint.”

Shruthi G (name changed), an employee at a software company at Bagmane Tech Park in Mahadevapura, booked an Ola cab after her work in the evening of January 3. She booked pick-up stops at two locations as she had to pick her four-year-old daughter from the day-care centre, which is 2 km away from her house.

However, around 6.22 pm, when the cab reached Malleshpalya near Kids Castle, the driver did not stop the vehicle. He asked her to get down at the last drop location. She told him to stop and tried to open the doors but he locked the doors, insisting that she sit in the car. When she resisted, he held her hands and abused her; he even threatened to kill her if she raised an alarm.

The victim said she pressed the emergency button on the app twice but only got a message advising her to call the police.

When she called the Ola emergency number, the person at the other end asked about her condition and to check whether the driver was drunk. They called back after one-and-a-half hours when she was filing a complaint at the police station.

“Ola did not make any efforts to reach out to the police or do anything to track my location and help me in that situation,” she said.

The victim called 100 and the staffer at the control room asked her which area she was in. Since she was familiar with the area, Shruthi was able to give her location.

“First they told me that the area comes under Baiyappanahalli. Later, they said it comes under HAL. Finally, they figured out the location. It took 20 minutes for the police to reach the spot,” she said.

What saved Shruti was her sheer instinct and luck. Alone in the cab, she started raising an alarm. Luckily, commuters in the other vehicles next to the cab noticed her screaming for help and stopped the driver.

“If this is the kind of security Ola provides its customer, it is very questionable,” she said. “If we have to really call the police during an emergency then why they put out the number and emergency button, it’s a waste of time during that crucial situation. If they directly told us to dial 100 during an emergency, it will save time. Lakhs of commuters take Ola cabs thinking it is safe but they have no mechanism to check their drivers and track their customers in danger.”

Baiyappanahalli police said the accused Bhimashankar Malged was arrested and remanded in judicial custody following the complaint.

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News Network
April 15,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 15: The Opposition Congress in Karnataka on Wednesday accused the BJP government, headed by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, of showing discrimination in distribution of relief material to those affected by the lockdown, clamped to check the spread of Novel Coronavirus, by favouring constituencies represented by the ruling BJP Legislators.

Despite that, the party intends to extend full cooperation to the government during this hour of crisis without indulging in politics, it urged the administration to be “transparent”.

''We have had our (Congress) Task Force meeting today, during which we discussed several matters. There is a lot of difference between the government's talk and its deeds,'' KPCC President D K Shivakumar said.

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