Minister warns action against manipulation by Haj agencies

A total of 101,758 pilgrims from Bangladesh will perform the Haj, an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia this year. Ten thousand pilgrims will perform the Haj under government management while 91,758 under private agencies, according to the parliamentary standing committee on ministry of religious affairs.The committee also discussed issue of Haj management and recommended that hassle-free Haj service should be ensured. It suggested for sending a letter to the Saudi Arabian embassy in Dhaka so that every agency can send maximum 500 pilgrims under the Haj Policy 2016.Meanwhile, the minister for religious affairs said stringent actions would be taken if any Haj agency cheats any pilgrim or tries to involve in corruption over the pilgrimage.He issued the warning at a discussion marking the training of officials and employees on pre-registration of intending pilgrims at Ashkona Haj Camp at Uttara.The minister asked the officials to refrain from indulging in corruption and warned legal actions would be taken if any specific allegation is found against anyone.He advised the participants to acquire knowledge from the training and utilise it to serve the pilgrims.The minister highlighted the government’s development activities and said the religious affairs ministry has taken all preparations to manage this year’s Haj properly like it did in the past seven years.Ministry sources said the pre-registration fee is 30,000 taka for those going to perform Haj under government arrangement and 30,752 taka for those going under the arrangements by non-government agencies.