The cost of Hajj will increase in the future, request to be registered now

According to the notification of the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Sunday, taking into account the global situation and the demolition of various hotels near the Haram Sharif in Saudi Arabia, there has been a problem in renting hotels this year and hotels are being rented for a large amount of money.

 'Overall, for various reasons, this year's Hajj package can be considered as a reduced package and in that regard, it can be said that the price of Hajj packages will increase in the coming years.

Because it will take another two to three years to rebuild the demolished houses and hotels.' The notification also said that the Hajj package announced this year can be considered as the minimum. With that in mind, pilgrims are requested to register for this year's Haj package. As the cost of Hajj is high this time, the number of pilgrims registering is also low. The registration time has been extended several times and finally till April 5. According to those concerned, the cost of Hajj has increased this season due to the increase in house rent and air fare.

The cost of Hajj under private management will be 6 lakh 72 thousand 618 taka. The cost has increased by Tk 1 lakh 49 thousand 874 compared to last time. Last time it was five lakh 22 thousand 744 taka. The cost of Hajj under government management has been fixed at 6 lakh 83 thousand 18 taka. In other years, pilgrims could participate in two government-run packages. This time only one package was announced by the government management. Last year, compared to government package-1, the cost increased by 96 thousand 678. One lakh 61 thousand 868 taka has increased compared to package-2. Last year in package-1 was 5 lakh 86 thousand 340 taka and in package-2 was 5 lakh 21 thousand 150 taka.

Hajj pilgrims will spend 1 lakh 97 thousand 797 rupees for air fares among the government expenses. However, due to the reduction in the cost of Hajj services by the Royal Saudi Government, 11 thousand 725 rupees have been reduced in the package. The Saudi government has banned people under 12 years of age from performing Hajj this season. The Holy Hajj will be held on June 27 subject to sighting of the moon. According to the agreement between Saudi government and Bangladesh government on January 9, 1 lakh 27 thousand 198 people can go for Hajj this season. Out of this, 15 thousand under government management and 112 thousand 198 under private management will have the opportunity to perform Hajj.

Why the Hajj package will not be declared illegal - High Court: The High Court has issued a ruling asking why the high-cost Hajj package announced by the government should not be declared illegal. The defendants have been asked to respond to the ruling within the next four weeks. The High Court bench of Justice KM Kamrul Quader and Justice Mohammad Ali issued the rule on Sunday. Advocate Gazi heard on behalf of the writ in the court. Mohsin Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar heard for the state.

On March 12, a writ was filed to reduce the price of the Hajj package and re-announce the package. The writ seeks instructions to book tickets for Hajj on any airline other than Bangladesh Biman and Saudi Airlines. Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Ashraf Uz Zaman filed the writ. Secretary of Religion, Secretary of Ministry of Aviation and Tourism, Director General of Islamic Foundation have been made defendants in the writ.

Demand for rescheduling of Hajj packages by reducing air fares: Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAB) has written to the Prime Minister requesting to reduce the air fares of Hajj pilgrims and reschedule Hajj packages by forming an independent technical committee consisting of aviation experts.

A letter signed by Hub President M Shahadat Hossain Taslim was sent to the Prime Minister's office on Sunday. The hub president himself confirmed the matter. The letter titled 'Request for rescheduling of air fares for Hajj pilgrims through an independent technical committee comprising aviation experts' said that most of the pilgrims who will perform Hajj in 2023 are pre-registered in 2018 and 2019 and are waiting to perform Hajj in the financial budget made at that time. But increasing the cost of Hajj along with the additional air fares of the pilgrims has already created adverse reactions and dissatisfaction among the pilgrims as well as the devout Muslims.

According to the letter, this year the air fare for Hajj pilgrims has been fixed at Tk 1 lakh 97 thousand 797. Which is too much and unreasonable in terms of reality. Due to this, the announced Hajj package was not universally accepted and criticized. Since Biman is a commercial entity, their sole authority to fix fares is not justified. It is also said that in 2022, the air fare of Haj pilgrims was fixed at 1 lakh 40 thousand taka. Basically, fares were hiked due to the increase in jet fuel prices in the wake of the corona pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the operation of flights with some seats empty due to corona.

However, the expectation of Bangladeshi pilgrims was that the air fare may decrease after Corona. "Currently, the price of jet fuel has not increased, Saudi Arabia has not imposed any new charges, the aircraft does not have to transport pilgrims even with empty seats. However, the air fare of pilgrims has been increased by 57 thousand 797 taka. Which is considered unreasonable by the devout Muslims and has created a backlash and resentment among them. For this reason, it is requested in the letter to reduce the air fare of the pilgrims and reschedule the Hajj package by forming an independent technical committee consisting of aviation experts.