Hajj cost goes up by Tk 59,000

The Bangladeshi aspiring hajj pilgrims will need to pay Tk 59,000 additional to the cost of both government and private management Hajj packages the government set earlier.

State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque Khan announced the new decision after the meeting of the executive committee on hajj management at the ministry on Thursday.

As per the latest decision, a pilgrim will have to pay Tk 5,86,340 for the government package-1 and Tk 5,21,150 for the government package-2.

Besides, an aspiring pilgrim will have to pay Tk 5,22,744 for performing Hajj under private management.

The state minister said an aspiring hajj pilgrim, under government management, will have to pay a minimum amount of Tk 5,21,150 which was earlier set at Tk 4,62,150.

Therefore, every pilgrim would have to pay an additional Tk 19,683 for Qurbani (sacrificial) animal coupon from the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia.

Faridul Haque told the media that they were forced to take the decision as the Saudi Arabian authorities recently informed Bangladesh of increased moallem fees (all service providers) and other expenses.

Earlier on May 12, the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) announced its general hajj pilgrim package for Tk 4,63,744 for this year.

On May, 24 the State Minister for Religious Affairs declared the first Hajj flight from Bangladesh has been rescheduled to June 5. According to the bilateral agreement between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, a total of 57,585 Bangladeshis will be able to perform Hajj this year, likely to be held on July 8 depending on moon sighting.

Of the total pilgrims, 4,000 will perform Hajj under government management while the rest will perform Hajj under private agencies.

Over the past two years, the biggest annual congregation of Muslims has been held on a very limited scale with no one allowed to perform Hajj from outside Saudi Arabia.

In 2019, a total of 1.27 lakh Bangladeshis were allowed to perform Hajj, this year, a total of 57,856 pilgrims will be able to perform Hajj from Bangladesh.

Biman Bangladeshi Airlines will carry 31,000 pilgrims through 75 dedicated flights, while Saudi Arabian Airlines will carry the rest of the pilgrims.

Hajj is open to those who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and are under the age of 65.