Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Report-
The religious affairs ministry on Thursday stated there is no room for the government to cut the price amid widespread criticism of the outrageous cost of hajj packages this year.
At a press conference in his office at the Secretariat, Abul Kasem, the deputy secretary of the religious affairs ministry, said this.
The final day to register for the hajj is tonight, but given the price of the packages, it’s unlikely that the allotted number of pilgrims will make the journey this year. The religious affairs ministry has already extended the deadline for registration three times due to the weak response from hajj pilgrims.
A total of 1,00,562 pilgrims have finished their registration as of this point, against a quota of 1.27 lakh, according to the city’s Ashkona hajj office. Among them, 9,567 will do the hajj under government management, while 90,995 will do so under private management.
According to the agreement between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, 1.27 lakh Bangladeshis should have the chance to conduct the hajj this year, but many have found it difficult to arrange the money and finish the registration, according to the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh.
This year, a Bangladeshi will need to pay roughly Tk 7 lakh, up from Tk 1.61 lakh the year before, to conduct the hajj under private and government supervision.
