GPS watches worth Rs 7,000 provided to pilgrims not working

NEW DELHI: When a sudden hike in airfares of Rs 10,000 per pilgrim was announced in late April, triggering a wider debate over what pilgrims in India will actually pay, one item that came under immediate scrutiny was the Rs 7,000 deduction for a GPS-enabled smartwatch that 1.2 lakh pilgrims must carry. Procured by the Hajj Committee of India and supplied by Delhi-based company Sekyo Innovations, the smartwatch is positioned as a security measure. But pilgrims after leaving said the device couldn’t be turned on, couldn’t be charged and couldn’t “really track” anyone. The ‘Haj Suvidha Smart Watch’ is a must-have safety device for pilgrims in India this year. The decision, implemented by the Hajj Board of India, centers on pilgrim safety but raises questions about cost, enforcement and necessity. Each pilgrim actually pays 7,000 rupees for the device, deducted from the hajj deposit – one of the seven major expenses in a standard hajj package, including meals, accommodation and transportation. For families whose total expenditure may exceed Rs 4 lakh per person and are shocked by the sudden hike in air ticket prices of Rs 10,000 per person announced in late April, the watch has become a flashpoint. The watches were procured through a fast-track tendering process in 2025. More than 120,000 pieces of equipment were ordered. Sekyo Innovations is a Delhi-based company that operates on a hybrid model – designing and assembling watches in India while sourcing key high-tech components, including GPS modules, sensors and chipsets, from Hong Kong, China and Canada. A member of the Delhi State Hajj Committee said the smartwatch is included in the Hajj kits distributed to pilgrims before departure: “Some changes are made every year. Departure kits usually include passport stickers, luggage tags, boarding pass, ID card and now for the first time, a GPS-enabled watch has been added,” a member told TOI. The Hajj is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, with millions of people gathering in and around Mecca. Managing crowds, preventing stampedes and ensuring pilgrims don’t get lost are ongoing challenges. This year, 1.7-1.9 million people are expected to participate. Unlike India, other major hajj-sending countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan rely instead on traditional group management systems and mobile-based coordination. The launch of a smartwatch designed to track pilgrims in India and provide emergency aid has not gone smoothly. Usman Ansari, a pilgrim from Old Delhi, told TOI that many travelers, especially the elderly and those who are not very tech-savvy, find it difficult to use the device. “They told us the watch would be activated in Saudi Arabia, but most people didn’t know how to operate it.“…About 70% of people can’t even open it because some updates need to be made,” he added.