Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Report-
A legal notice demanding a reduction in the hajj package for individual pilgrims from Tk 6.83 lakh to Tk 4 lakh was delivered to the government.
The notice was delivered to the religious affairs ministry by Ashraf-Uz-Zaman, a Supreme Court attorney who serves as the center’s top coordinator for Al-Quran studies.
The letter stated that if the government did not re-fix the hajj expense within seven days, a writ petition will be filed in the High Court requesting a directive to the ministry to decrease the hajj package.
On February 2, the ministry released the hajj package, with the cost per pilgrim fixed at Tk 6,83,015 by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. The warning described the distributed hajj package as being unreasonable and out of the price range of the average person.
Although the ministry announced a charge of Tk 1,97,797, it was stated that the price was now between Tk 76,000 and Tk 1,10,000 on the route between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.
According to the notice, pilgrims were forced to buy aircraft tickets from Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Saudi Airlines in order to give these companies illegal benefits without having a choice to go on another airline.
Furthermore, according to the letter, housing expenses in Makkah and Medina as well as Zamzam water, immigration fees, and transportation fares were overcharged.
