Govt assures of better hajj service

Aspirant hajis will get better services than the previous year's as all preparations have already been completed, said Religious Affairs Minister Matior Rahman yesterday.

He was talking to reporters after a meeting on the preparation of hajj management-2018 at the Secretariat.

A total of 1,26,798 prospective hajis are scheduled to perform hajj likely to be held on August 21.

Of them, 6,798 will make the pilgrimage under the government management while the remaining 1,20,000 under the private agencies.

The minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to inaugurate the hajj programme-2018 at Ashkona Hajj Camp tomorrow.

He said the first hajj flight is scheduled for July 14 and it will continue till August 15. The return hajj flight is scheduled to begin on August 27 and will continue till September 25.

Already 6,114 pilgrims under the government management and 13,400 under private management have got visas, he said.

Mohibul Haque, acting secretary of the civil aviation and tourism ministry, said as per the directives of Saudi Arabia, no additional flights will be allowed this year.

ACC DRIVE

An Anti-Corruption Commission team raided some hajj agencies in Dhaka's Bijoynagar area yesterday to check harassment, says a press release. ACC Director General Muhammad Munir Chowdhury said people wanted them to do so.