Quota not met after 4 deadline extensions
Even after extending the registration deadline four times, the quota for sending 1.27 lakh Bangladeshis for hajj is still to be met, prompting hajj agencies to fear losses.
The "final deadline" for registration ends today.
The agency leaders have pointed to the high cost to perform hajj this year as the reason behind fewer registrations.
According to officials at the capital's Ashkona Hajj Camp, as of yesterday, around 1.12 lakh people have registered. Of the total, 9,749 did so under the government's hajj management and 1,02,759 under private management.
According to an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh, 1.27 lakh Bangladeshis will be able to perform hajj this year.
Due to the inadequate response, the government on February 22 first extended the deadline till February 28 and then till March 7.
A Bangladeshi will have to spend around Tk 7 lakh to perform hajj under private and government management this year, Tk 1.61 lakh more than the previous year's amount.
Even after that, authorities did not hit the quota, and so, on March 7, the religious affairs ministry extended the deadline till March 16.
Even after that deadline, 1,08,909 registered. Without finding any alternative, on March 16, the government extended the deadline for the "last time" till March 21.
Contacted, Abdus Salam Aref, general secretary of Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB), said although the government is saying that 1.12 lakh have registered, around 5 percent of registered hajis will not go.
Leaders of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) and ATAB fear that this year's quota will not be met, due to the high cost of hajj packages.
Several officials at Ashkona Hajj Camp said that the quota may be unmet by several thousands.
"Our business will be seriously affected if we cannot fulfil the quota. Besides, failure to fulfil it will also negatively impact our country," said the ATAB general secretary.
HAAB and ATAB leaders said despite the huge interest of people to perform hajj, fewer people have registered due to the high cost of hajj packages.
A Bangladeshi will have to spend around Tk 7 lakh to perform hajj under private and government management this year, Tk 1.61 lakh more than the previous year's amount.
HAAB and ATAB leaders said a pilgrim will have to spend around Tk 8 to 9 lakh on average to complete all hajj formalities, for which many are finding it difficult to manage the money.
Both ATAB and HAAB leaders said this year's airfare is very high, for which the cost of hajj packages have increased significantly.
"The airfare of Biman was Tk 1.40 lakh last year. But this year, it is around Tk 1.98 lakh," said HAAB President M Shahadat Hossain Taslim.
Sources at HAAB and ATAB said in India, the airfare is around Tk 1.25 lakh, and in Pakistan it is less than Tk 1 lakh.
This year, hajj will be held on June 27 depending on the moon's sighting.
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