The List is Out

Posted on 15th October 2009

1,200 expatriates selected for Haj
Web posted at: 10/14/2009 3:32:49
Source ::: The Peninsula

DOHA: The Haj Committee has selected 1,200 expatriates, from a total of 5,100 applicants to perform Haj this year.

The selection follows the online registration for expatriates Haj pilgrims introduced by the Committee recently for the first time in Qtar. All the winning candidates were informed through SMS yesterday and they have been asked to complete the other formalities in a week, Haj Committee sources said yesterday.

Qtar has a total quota of 1,500 expatriate Haj pilgrims this year, besides the nearly 4,000 Qtari pilgrims. However, efforts are on to get the quota raised, considering the high number of applicants.

The committee also announced the quota of pilgrims allotted for each Muqawil (Haj contractors) in the C-Category. This category is dedicated for expatriates travelling by road. The selected pilgrims have been asked to contact their respective Muqawils and complete the necessary formalities for the pilgrimage with out any delay. Those who fail to meet the deadline would miss the opportunity to perform the pilgrimage this year.

Meanwhile, the committee has said that all the pilgrims will be vaccinated against seasonal flu and Hepatitis as in the previous years. The vaccines will be administered before their departure to Saudi Arabia.

A senior official of the Medical Committee functioning under the Haj Committee, in a statement issued yesterday, has also clarified that the seasonal flu vaccine given this year is similar to the one administered in the previous years. “Many people were given this vaccine in the previous years and no side effects were reported,” said Dr Faleh Mohammed Hussain, Assistant Minister for Policies at the Supreme Council of Health and head of the Medical Committee. He said the H1N1 vaccine would be given to the pilgrims as and when the vaccine arrives in Qtar.

The Saudi government has made the vaccination mandatory for the pilgrims provided the vaccine is made available before the pilgrimage. If the vaccine is not ready by that time, people will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage on condition that they get vaccinated against seasonal flu, said Faleh.

And I am not in the list. :(