Dhaka Bureau: This year’s Hajj registration process has ended with more than 40 thousand quotas vacant, despite the extension of time five times. Hajj pilgrims are blaming the extra cost for the non-fulfillment of the quota. The remaining quota will be returned to Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Religion said. The agencies say that so many quotas have never been vacant before.
According to the website of the Ministry of Religion, 44 thousand quotas are still vacant after registration. Saudi Arabia set a quota of 127 thousand 198 for Bangladesh this year. Of these, 4,260 people have officially registered to go to Hajj. 78 thousand 895 people registered privately. A total of 83,155 people have registered. The remaining 44 thousand 43 quotas will be returned.
However, the Ministry of Religion says that many have registered on the last day, but their payment is pending. If you add this number, it will decrease by a couple of thousand. Still, about 40,000 quotas will be returned to Saudi Arabia.
Those concerned said that the quota has been returning for the past two years as the cost of Hajj has gone beyond the reach of ordinary pilgrims. Many people are unable to perform Hajj despite their desire. The dream of performing Hajj remains elusive.
In 2023, the Hajj package under government management is fixed at 6 lakh 83 thousand taka and under private management at 6 lakh 72 thousand taka. But compared to the last time, this time the price of the package has been reduced by 92 thousand 450 taka. Still, the pilgrims are struggling to meet the expenses.
This time, Hajj registration started on November 15, 2023, which was supposed to end on December 10. In the first phase, the time was extended until December 31, as the expected response was not met. After that, the registration period was extended until January 18 in the second phase. In the third phase, the Ministry of Religious Affairs extended the time from January 25 to February 1. Due to the lack of response to the Hajj registration, the Hajj registration period was extended until February 6. In the current year 2024, two packages for Hajj have been decided by government management. Among these, the lowest package price is five lakh, 78 thousand, and 840 taka. The price of the special package is 9 lakh, 36 thousand, and 320 taka.
On the other hand, the price of two packages in private management is 5 lakh 89 thousand 800 taka and 8 lakh 28 thousand 818 taka, respectively. Although the price of the lowest package this year has been reduced by Tk 1 lakh four thousand 160 compared to last year, However, the price of the current Hajj package is considered too high by those who are interested in going to Hajj.
It should be noted that Hajj flights are scheduled to start on May 9. Hajj will be on June 16, subject to moon sighting.
