Sri Lankan Muslims permitted to fly for Haj; must transfer USD 1,500 from overseas
Colombo, Jun 9: The Sri Lankan government has decided to permit its Muslim citizens to travel to Saudi Arabia to peform Haj on condition that they pay USD 1,500 in foreign currency from abroad without affecting the nation's crisis-hit economy, according to media reports on Thursday.
The government has agreed to allow Haj pilgrims despite the current economic crisis, following a meeting of Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickremanayake on Tuesday with the Haj Travel Operator's Associations.
It was decided in the meeting to fulfil the request of pilgrims by asking them to pay for their Haj package in foreign currencies, Daily News Lanka newspaper reported.
Sri Lanka's travel operators had earlier decided to cancel the Haj pilgrimage this year due to the worst economic crisis facing the debt-ridden country. They said cancelling the Haj this year could save the island nation precious foreign exchange.
Saudi Arabia had approved a quota of 1,585 Haj pilgrims from Sri Lanka for the year 2022, out of the one million foreign and domestic Muslims allowed to travel to the holy city of Makkah in the pilgrimage season.
Stressing that Muslims in Sri Lanka performed their annual pilgrimage every year without any interruptions except for the last two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Wickremanayake said he had requested the central bank of Sri Lanka to work out the modalities of the pilgrimage under new guidelines.
Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs on its official website asked pilgrims to transfer USD 1,500 per person from abroad to a designated foreign currency account in Sri Lanka to perform Haj.
According to the statement, Haj Tour Operators' Associations have been advised to make arrangements as per the guidelines of the central bank and to levy a reasonable amount as the charges for Haj pilgrimage this year.
Sri Lankans interested in performing the Haj this year were requested to confirm their participation before Friday (June 10), the country's news website News1st cited the statement as saying.
The report also said Sri Lanka had conveyed the decision to the government of Saudi Arabia through appropriate diplomatic channels.
Sri Lanka has been facing the worst economic crisis since its Independence from Britain in 1948, partly due to lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
"The whole Haj operation of Sri Lankan pilgrims will cost around USD 10 million, which is a big amount compared with the current economic situation of the country," Ahkam Uwais, chairman of the National Hajj Committee under Sri Lanka's Department of Muslim Religious Affairs, had earlier said while conveying the decision of forgoing the pilgrimage this year.
Muslims make up almost 10 per cent of Sri Lanka's 22 million -- predominantly Buddhist -- population. The Haj, one of Islam's five main pillars of faith, is organised by umbrella groups of government-licensed operators - the only tour organisers available to prospective pilgrims.
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Gujarat ATS busts illegal alprazolam facility in Rajasthan with local cops; 3 held
Ahmedabad (PTI): The Gujarat ATS and Rajasthan Police jointly busted an illegal alprazolam-making factory in the neighbouring state and arrested three men with 22 kg of psychotropic substances and the drug, valued at Rs 30 lakh, officials said on Monday.
The accused had rented a pharmaceutical unit to manufacture the drug, prescribed for anxiety and panic disorders, in an industrial area near Bhiwadi town of Rajasthan.
Alprazolam falls under the purview of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act because of its misuse as a psychotropic substance, according to an official release.
Acting on specific inputs, personnel of Gujarat ATS and Rajasthan Police raided the unit on Sunday, leading to the arrest of Anshul Shastri, Akhilesh Maurya, and Krishnakumar Yadav.
Police recovered 5 kg of alprazolam and 17 kg of a mixture of other psychotropic substances used as raw material, taking the total seizure to 22 kg, valued at around Rs 30 lakh, said the release.
The substances were allegedly being manufactured illegally without any authorisation or licence, and were meant for sale in the illicit drug market.
A preliminary investigation suggested that one of the arrested accused, Shastri, was involved in sourcing raw materials required for manufacturing alprazolam through his trading firm, according to the release.
Shastri and his business partner Maurya took a pharma unit in Bhiwadi on rent with the help of Yadav, a chemist versed in the production process, it said.
Rajasthan Police registered an FIR at the Bhiwadi sector-3 police station following the raid under relevant sections of the NDPS Act and are investigating further.
