Cabinet okays hajj package
The cabinet today approved the Hajj Package-2014, fixing the hajj expenses at Tk 3.54 lakh for each pilgrim.
This year, a total of 101,758 Bangladeshi pilgrims will be able to perform hajj, some 25,500 less than last year, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after a cabinet meeting at the secretariat.
Of them, 10,000 will go under government management and the rest under private arrangement. Last year the numbers of pilgrims were 127,198, he added.
This year less pilgrims will be allowed to perform Hajj as the Saudi government has cut the quota by 20 percent due to ongoing renovation work at the Haram Sharif, the cabinet secretary said.
The repair work would continue until 2015.
The cost of two packages under government management would be Tk 3.54 lakh and Tk 2.96 lakh respectively.
For both the packages, additional Tk 10,500 will be added for sacrificing animal marking Eid-ul-Azha.
Besides, lowest costs for private hajj packages will be Tk 2.96 so that minimum facilities could be ensured for the pilgrims, the cabinet secretary said.
The cabinet also approved the drafts of ‘The Rangamati Hill District Council (Amendment) Act-2014, ‘The Bandarban Hill District Council (Amendment) Act-2014’ and ‘The Khagrachhari Hill District Council (Amendment) Act-2014’.
Bhuiyan said the proposed amendments have been brought to strengthen the councils by expanding the size of the councils to 11 members from existing five-member.
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