For the coming Hajj season, 186 private Hajj agencies in Bangladesh have failed to register the minimum number of pilgrims, and 32 of them registered none at all. Several of the lead agencies meant to steer the private Hajj arrangements are also far short of their quotas, Samakal reports.
According to the religious affairs ministry, each of the 28 lead agencies has a minimum quota of 2,000 pilgrims and each of the 684 coordinating agencies a minimum of 44. Six Hajj alliances fell short of 2,000. A lead agency coordinates its alliance's visas, housing, food, transport, tents at Mina and Arafat, luggage, the search for lost pilgrims, emergency care and complaints, and deals with the Saudi authorities.
One listed lead agency, Marhamah Air Travel and Tours, registered only 39 pilgrims, while Mosharraf Tour and Travels in the same alliance registered 521 and Jabal-e-Noor Travels and Tours 305; all 33 coordinating agencies in the alliance signed up more than Marhamah. Its general manager, M Golam Murtoza, said the owner lives in Saudi Arabia, so the agency could not campaign, and hoped numbers would rise if Saudi Arabia grants an extra quota.
Under the Hajj Package and Guideline 2027, pilgrims of an agency that misses its quota must be moved to another eligible agency under the lead agency. The ministry warned agencies again before registration closed on 24 September. In 2026, 98 agencies registered no pilgrims and were to be dropped, but were readmitted at the request of the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB).
Religious Affairs Secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad said a lead agency ought to have more capacity and more pilgrims; HAAB submitted 33 names and the Saudi government approved 28. State Minister for Religious Affairs Mohammad Shamim Kaiser said he was surprised, and that the agency with 521 pilgrims should have applied to lead. The government has asked Saudi Arabia for an extra quota of 17,500 pilgrims, he said, and agencies that still miss their quotas once that is settled will face administrative action.
HAAB secretary general Farid Ahmed Majumder said lead agencies were chosen by the agencies among themselves, not by the ministry or HAAB, and that HAAB wants all agencies kept in the Hajj programme. HAAB president Syed Golam Sarwar said agencies with fewer than 44 pilgrims will not count as coordinators.
Photo: Press Information Department / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: samakal
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