Two agencies have disappeared with 468 Hajj pilgrims money, putting their hopes for making the once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage in jeopardy.
Al-Risan Travels took money from 448 pilgrims and Dia International from 20 pilgrims.
The religious affairs ministry has written to the home ministry, seeking to bar Al-Risan Managing Director Abdus Salam Mia, and Dia International Chairman Kamrul Islam and MD Mohammad Ali Babu from fleeing Bangladesh.
Religious Affairs Secre-tary Abu Taher said in the letter that the people who registered via the two agencies have not received any visas so far while the top officials cannot be contacted.
“They may have faced deception and their Hajj this year may be uncertain,” the letter said.
It also recommended tracing the top officials of the two agencies and taking legal action against them.
The religious affairs ministry has also directed the Hajj agencies to enter Hajj flight data on time and correctly in the Saudi e-Hajj system.
The agencies have been warned against taking money from pilgrims for animal sacrifices and sending zarda or chewing tobacco through them.
In a bulletin, the ministry said 24,236 Banglaadeshis reached Saudi Arabia for Hajj on 61 flights until Friday.
They include 3,747 travelling under government packages and 20,489 under private agency packages. The Hajj flights opened on May 9 and the last flight will be operated on Jun 10.
The Hajj may be held on Jun 16, subject to the sighting of the moon. This year, 127,198 Bangladeshis had the opportunity to make the trip, but only 83,311 registered. Of those, 4,319 registered for the government-managed trip while 78,895 registered for privately-managed trips. The price of the general government package was set at Tk 578,840 and the special package at Tk 936,320. The Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh set the price of a private general package at Tk 589,800 and a special package at Tk 699,300.
A total of 116 dedicated flights will operate during the pre-Hajj period from Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet to Jeddah and Madinah. Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Saudia and Flynas are operating Hajj flights this year. —
Source: bdnews24.com
