-98% of pilgrims did not get visa
The Saudi government has informed the Ministry of Religion that people engaged in the service of Hajids will not be able to perform Hajj this year. The Ministry of Religion has also given instructions in this regard.
Ministry of Religion said in a letter regarding the issuance of Hajj mission visas to monks of the Hajj Agency, according to the decision of the Saudi government, going to Saudi Arabia on a Hajj mission visa does not guarantee Hajj, said On April 22,. Monajjems will collect flight tickets, travel to Saudi Arabia, stay and return to Bangladesh on their own initiative.
Similarly, the officials who are going to Saudi Arabia in the Hajj management team from various ministries and departments have also been told that they cannot go to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj on the Hajj management visa. Apart from this, about 300 officials and employees of various ministries, departments and offices perform Hajj every year at the government expense in the name of providing services to Hajj pilgrims. It costs the government about Tk 20 to 25 crore every year. But the pilgrims do not benefit.
As a result, it was decided in the meeting of the National Hajj Management Committee on March 20 that no one except the Ministry of Religion and related officials will be able to go to Hajj from this year at the government expense in the name of Hajj service.
Officials from other ministries, including the Ministry of Religion and Health, go to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj every year in various Hajj management teams to serve the Hajids. In this way, many officials performed Hajj four to five times. Similarly, the Hajj agency's monajjems also perform Hajj every year by talking about the service of Hajids.
MU A Hamid Jamaddar, secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, said that the monajjems of the Hajj agency going to Saudi Arabia to serve the pilgrims will not be able to perform Hajj this time. The Saudi government will not allow those who join the Hajj management team to perform Hajj. He said, the Saudi government has informed us about this. In response to the question whether there will be any problem for the pilgrims, the religious secretary said, what is our relationship with the pilgrim's Hajj? We will go to Hajj or why. Those who go to work, they will fulfill the responsibility.
Tofail Ahmad, owner of Air trip International Limited, said that Hajj agencies are being given Monazzem visas to conduct Hajj in such a way that there could be huge problems in serving Hajids. Because monks cannot perform Hajj on Hajj mission visa, they cannot stay in Mina and Arafa, even if they can't wear the white clothes of Ihram. The Saudi government will not allow anyone to board the Hajj vehicles if they cannot wear Ihram clothes. And if there is no monajjem with the Hajids of our country, there may be many problems.
The application period for Hajj visa ends on April 29. Hajj flights will start from May 9. But under private management, 99 percent of Hajj pilgrims still do not have visas. Officials of the Ministry of Religion said that it is not possible to complete the visas of a large number of these pilgrims within three days. However, under government management, about 2,000 Hajj pilgrims' visas has been completed against 4,283. For this reason, Religion Minister Faridul Haque Khan has given a semi-official letter (D O) to the Saudi government to extend the visa application period.
Additional Secretary (Hajj) of the Ministry of Religion, Motiul Islam said, Hajj agencies have not issued visas to most of the 78 thousand 895 Hajj pilgrims under private management. About 1500 or 1.90 percent of Hajj pilgrims have received visas till yesterday. As a result, the Minister of Religion gave a D O to the Saudi government to extend the Hajj visa period. They haven't said anything yet. Hopefully, the Saudi government will extend the time.
Dhaka's Ashkona Hajj office wrote to each agency regarding the application along with the attached documents for Monajjem visa last 25th February. After that, the Hajj agencies completed the verification of documents and other procedures for the Monazzem visa and waited for the visa, Monazzem visa will be after two months of application. But the pilgrims who do not have a visa for two long months get into trouble with housing rent in Saudi Arabia. For this, the owners of the operating Hodge Agency held a press conference at the National Press Club on Wednesday.
Earlier, Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) held a press conference on the night of April 16. The Ministry of Religion has been allowing Monazzem visas since last Wednesday.
ZH
