‘Finish registration for hajj on time’
Saying there is no reason to panic over the coronavirus outbreak, State Minister for Religious Affairs Sheikh Md Abdullah yesterday urged prospective hajis from the country to complete their registration on time.
Otherwise, hajj aspirants might face problems in performing hajj this year, he said while talking to journalists at his office at the Secretariat about the registration process and management of hajj pilgrims in Bangladesh in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.
The state minister also said prospective hajj pilgrims' deposited money will be refunded if they fail to go to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj due to coronavirus.
He said hajj aspirants will be able to perform hajj next year without any additional cost, if anyone cannot go to Saudi Arabia this year due to the outbreak.
M Shahadat Hossain Taslim, president of the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB), also said the entire deposit will be refunded if any intended hajis fail to perform hajj under private hajj management.
Hajj flights will start from June 23 from Bangladesh.
The holy pilgrimage is likely to be held on July 31, subject to sighting of the moon.
Confusion arose over holding of hajj this year due to outbreak of coronavirus in over 90 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. The Saudi government recently halted performing of umrah hajj. Visits to Mecca and Madina were also prohibited last week.
Referring to the fact that the number of hajj registrants is lower this year due to the coronavirus panic, the minister said so far only 485 hajj aspirants have registered to perform hajj under government management.
A total of 17,198 persons is scheduled to perform hajj this year under the government management, while 1,30,000 under private management.
The deadline for completing hajj registration under the government hajj management is March 15.
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