MALAPPURAM: Beating all records, the applications for this year’s Haj pilgrimage under the state Haj panel have touched a new high. The committee received more than 80,000 requests by Monday evening, which was the deadline for the submission from aspirants from Kerala, Lakshadweep and Mahe. Last year it had received 76,417 from which only 10,268 got selected for the pilgrimage under various quotas. The Haj authorities hope it could go up to 12,000 by the increase in applications.
Meanwhile, the State Haj Committee meeting on Monday has elected Thodiyoor Muhammed Kunhi Moulavi as its new chairman. The election was held in the wake of the demise of the former chairman Kottumala Bappu Musliyar last month. The new chairman is the state secretary of the Dakshina Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulema and a member of the committee since 1992. He was elected unanimously at the meeting chaired by Haj affairs minister Dr K.T. Jaleel in Thiruvananthapuram.
