মঙ্গলবার, ১০ ফেব্রুয়ারী ২০২৬, ০৯:৩৮ অপরাহ্ন
The government today extended the registration deadline for Hajj for the second time to March 7 due to poor response from would-be pilgrims.
Only 32,000 Bangladeshis have completed registration till date to perform hajj this year against the country’s quota of 1.27 lakh, the religious affairs ministry said in a circular today.
The ministry earlier on February 22 extended the deadline for hajj registration till today.
But in the last six days since February 22 only 13,860 intended hajis completed registration, sources at the Hajj Camp office said.
At least 15,000 out of the 1.27 lakh were supposed to perform the ritual under government management and the rest under private management.
Top leaders of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) and Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) said despite the huge interest of people in performing Hajj, fewer people registered due to the high cost of hajj packages this year.
A Bangladeshi will have to spend at least Tk 6.83 lakh to perform hajj under government management this year, up by around Tk 1.61 lakh from the previous year. The minimum cost for performing hajj under private management has been fixed at Tk 6.72 lakh, about Tk 1.5 lakh more than that of the previous year.
Apart from this, each pilgrim will have to pay about Tk 22,000 for a Qurbani coupon from the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia. The amount is used for meeting the expenses of sacrificing animals.
The hajj is expected to be held on June 27 subjected to the sighting of the moon.
