Hajj 2025, April 20 -- The number of Hajj pilgrims to Mecca and Medina from Jammu and Kashmir has reduced by about 70 per cent in last two years, officials said. The decline in pilgrim numbers is primarily because of a combination of factors, they said.

The key factors include the rising cost of travel after the removal of government subsidies, the absence of foreign airlines in this year's Hajj operations, and unbearable temperatures in Saudi Arabia.

This year, about 3,624 pilgrims are expected to perform Hajj 2025 from the Union Territory, This is about half the number of 7,008 pilgrims who performed Hajj in 2024, officials said.

"As many as 3,624 pilgrims from J&K and 242 from Ladakh will perform Hajj this year," Shujaat Ahmad Qures...