Thousands of Bangladeshi Umrah pilgrims are not getting visa clearance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) as the Saudi Arabian government has introduced quota system for the Umrah pilgrims.
Due to the new quota system of the Saudi authorities, more than 90 per cent of the enrolled Umrah pilgrims from Bangladesh and Pakistan are not getting visa from the Nusuk system of the country. As a result, number of visa clearance from Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has also reduced significantly.
According to the pilgrims and Hajj and Umrah agencies, the Nusuk system of the Saudi government, which is used for enrollment for Hajj and Umrah, has cut around 90 per cent of the Umrah quota. Due to the deduction, more than 500 Bangladeshi pilgrims are being deprived of travelling to Saudi Arabia everyday for Umrah.
Their air tickets are being cancelled, but the ticketing agencies are not giving their money back for the cancelled tickets.
In this situation, the Umrah pilgrims who were expecting to join the I’tikaf, an Islamic practice of staying in a mosque for a set number of days to worship and get closer to Allah. Same time, they are losing huge amount of money as the Umrah tickets for Bangladeshis are booked until April this year.
If the situation is not changed, several thousands of pilgrims would be deprived of performing Umrah from Bangladesh and the monetary loss of the pilgrims and agencies would exceed Tk 22,500 crore this year, they apprehend.
In this situation, the leaders of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) and Association of Travel Agencies of Bangladesh (ATAB) demanded immediate cancellation of the Saudi decision to restrict number of Umrah pilgrims through the new quota system and urged the air ticketing agencies and airlines to return the entire fare of tickets back to the pilgrims and agencies.
When contacted, Religious Affairs Ministry’s Secretary AKM Aftab Hassain Pramanik told this correspondent that the Saudi authorities have reduced the number of visa clearance for the Bangladeshi Umrah pilgrims. Learning the matter, the Bangladesh Hajj Mission at Makkah has been asked to look into the matter.
The matter of reducing Umrah visa is completely a matter of the Saudi government. Probably, the number was reduced to lessen the additional pressure of Umrah pilgrims and arranging the accommodation of extra pilgrims at Makkah and Madina. Initiative has been taken to resolve the problem, he assured.
Meanwhile, HAAB Secretary General Farid Ahmed Majumder expressed deep concern over the Saudi decision to lessen 90 per cent of the Umrah pilgrims’ quota.
“The Saudi authorities have reduced the number of visa clearance suddenly without any prior notice. As a result, the intending Umrah pilgrims have been passing worried times. In this situation, 70 to 80 per cent seats may remain vacant,” he said, urging the Saudi authority to issue MoFA clearance like pre-Ramadan time.
When contacted, Dr Abdullah Al Naser, President of Bangladesh Pilgrims and Hajji Welfare Association, the Saudi Umrah companies have been earning crores of taka by increasing the MoFA fees upto Tk 10,000 to Tk 18,000 extra per person. The MoFA fees has now increased at Tk 26,000 per person, which is unethical. “We condemn and protest the unethical practice of the Saudi agencies.”
He claimed that most of the seats of flights which are carrying Umrah pilgrims are vacant from March 9 due to lack of MoFA clearance of Saudi visa. More than 2,000 tickets are cancelled in only two days.
Most of the booked tickets are being cancelled from the ticketing agencies like Kazi Air International, Al-Madina Travels, Hashem Air International, and Sadia Air. However, the Saudi Arabian Airlines has not yet stopped selling air tickets even after the directive of the government, according to the agencies.
Before the Ramadan, some 2 lakh Bangladeshi Umrah pilgrims have travelled to Saudi Arabia from last July, 2024.
Source: observed
