Hajj registration deadline extended for 6th time
28 March 2023
Staff Reporter :
The government has again extended the registration deadline for intended Hajj pilgrims until March 30 in a bid to fulfill this year's registration quota.
With this, the deadline for enrollment of aspirant Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims has been extended for sixth times.
Despite the huge interest of people in performing Hajj, fewer people registered due to the high cost of Hajj packages this year, people related to Hajj agencies said.
As per the earlier schedule, the registration period for Hajj pilgrims was supposed to end on March 27. Due to the reduction of service prices in Saudi Arabia, the cost of performing Hajj from Bangladesh this year has also been reduced by Tk 11,725.The Holy Hajj will be held on June 27 (9 Zilhj) this year subjected to moon sighting.
According to the Hajj agreement with Saudi Arabia, a total of 127,198 people from Bangladesh will be able to perform Hajj this time. Out of this, 15,000 people will get the opportunity to perform Hajj under government management and the remaining 112,198 pilgrims will perform Hajj under private management.
According to Bangladesh Hajj portal, a total of 117,347 pilgrims have already been registered their names till 6:30 pm on Monday. Among them, 9,892 people have registered their names under government arrangement, while 107,455 people under private management. There are still 9,851 Hajj pilgrims left to fill the quota.
According to the notice of the Religious Affairs Ministry, the period of registration of Hajj pilgrims of government management and private management has been extended till March 30 at the special request of Hajj pilgrims.
The pre-registration series is open in both public and private management for registration and the opportunity to go to Hajj is created by fresh pre-registration in both the management. The Ministry of Religious Affairs said in a notification that the registration server will be automatically closed as soon as the quota is filled.
However, the government still has kept the cost of the official Hajj package unchanged.
"There is no plan for reducing the cost of hajj package from the government," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Religious Affairs briefed a group of journalists.
A Bangladeshi will have to spend Tk 683,018 under the government arrangement, while Tk 672,618 under private arrangement.
Because of such a higher cost, devotees and different quarters demanded for reducing the expenditures, so that people can afford it and can go to perform the holy ritual.
Meanwhile, mentioning the hajj package as costly the High Court of Bangladesh recently termed this year's package is 'inhuman'.
