Dhaka, Friday


29 March 2024


Business Insider Bangladesh

No decision yet on reducing hajj cost: Ministry

BI Report || BusinessInsider

Published: 18:10, 16 March 2023  
No decision yet on reducing hajj cost: Ministry

Representational photo

The government has yet not taken any decision on reducing Hajj costs this year, Motiul Islam, additional secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, said on Thursday.

“We did not receive any copy of the court order in this regard. If there is a new decision, we will convey it to you later,” Islam said while talking to reporters at his ministry office in Dhaka.

The registration for Hajj under the existing packages is ending today (Thursday), he said, adding that the intending pilgrims have to deposit money in banks within this timeframe.

It has not yet been decided whether the registration time will be extended, said the government official.

As of March 15, 9,569 people registered for the Hajj under government management while around 91,246 under private management and there are still 25,480 empty quotas for registration, he said.

The High Court on Wednesday asked Attorney General AM Amin Uddin to take initiative to reduce the Hajj performance cost this year.

The HC bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Mohammad Ali gave the order after hearing the ministry’s explanation regarding the high Hajj cost this year.

On Tuesday the court questioned how common people will perform Hajj according to costs fixed by the government and private agencies.

It questioned, “Why doesn't the government allocate budgets for the hajj like other countries in the world?”

The HC bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Mohammad Ali came up with this observation while hearing a writ petition over revising the hajj package offered by the government this year.

The government has fixed Tk 6,83,018 as the cost for each pilgrim to perform hajj this year while the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) has announced this year’s minimum hajj package under private management at Tk 6,72, 618.

Nagad
Walton