Hajj pilgrims to pay over Tk 1 lakh more this year

Pilgrims will have to spend more to perform hajj this year as the minimum cost under government management has been fixed at Tk 4,62, 150, over Tk 1 lakh more than 2020, reports UNB.

Under government management, Tk 5,27,340 lakh has been fixed as the maximum cost (Package -1), Tk 1,02,340 more than 2020, said State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan while talking to reporters after attending a meeting on hajj on Wednesday.

Besides, the minimum cost under private management has been fixed at Tk 4,56,530 and the private hajj agencies can announce more than one package after keeping consistency with the government packages.

Flights carrying Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj will begin on May 31, said the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry.

This year, the government has fixed Tk 1.40 lakh as plane fare.

Biman will carry 31,000 pilgrims through 75 dedicated flights, said State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali while talking to reporters after attending a meeting on hajj management at the secretariat on April 27.

This year, a total of 57,856 pilgrims will be able to perform Hajj from Bangladesh. 

Earlier, Saudi Arabia raised the number of Hajj pilgrims from inside and outside the kingdom to one million in 2022, authorities announced in a statement on April 9.

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

Pilgrims travelling from abroad will also need to have a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before their departure for Saudi Arabia, the statement added.

Last year, 58,745 pilgrims performed Hajj in the world because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, some 2.5 million people used to travel every year to Saudi Arabia for Hajj.