Government | Saturday 29 August, 2015 5:05 am |

Low-cost Haj packages are no longer available as the registration process has been completed.
Announcing it, Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Nafei, assistant deputy minister of Haj, said domestic Haj operators have completed registering names of pilgrims for this year. “On the ministry’s website, 115,000 pilgrims from inside the Kingdom have registered their information and paid fees.” 
He rejected messages from local operators that they will no longer accept cases due to the closure of the portal for domestic pilgrims. “The site is still available with some programs that have not yet reached maximum capacity.” 
He said Haj operators are permitted to book only 10 percent of applicants directly. “Registration is entirely via the ministry’s portal. Applicants have 72 hours to complete the process by paying the fees. Failure to do it within the specified time results in cancellation of the application.” 
Meanwhile, Ahmad Mohammed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank, has announced that a sacrificial animal would cost SR475 for this year’s Haj. 
Ali, who is also the head of the Saudi Project for the Utilization of Haj Meat (Adahi), made the announcement on Thursday during a meeting with officials in charge of Haj affairs at embassies and consulates in the Kingdom. Veterinarians and Islamic scholars are deployed to inspect the animals, he said.
Ali said the meat is distributed to poor people at the Grand Mosque, holy sites, and several Muslim countries and communities across the globe. He said Saudi Arabia has spent over SR2 billion on modern automated slaughterhouses.
He said coupons are available at Al-Rajhi Bank, Al-Amoudi Exchange Company, Hadeyat Al-Haj Wal Moatamer Society, Saudi Post outlets, and through the www.adahi.org website using credit cards. 
He said 900,000 animals were sacrificed last year and distributed inside the Kingdom and to 24 other countries. He urged the media to inform pilgrims that they should avoid slaughterhouses during peak periods.