Cabinet okays draft National Hajj, Umrah Policy, Hajj Package 2014

FE Report | Published: March 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The cabinet approved Monday the draft National Hajj and Umrah Policy 1435 Hijri (2014 AD) and the Hajj Package, 2014 bringing minor changes in the existing Hajj policy.
Under the new policy, some 101,758 Bangladeshis will perform Hajj this year.
"A total of 101,758 Bangladeshis will perform Hajj this year. Of them some 10,000 pilgrims will perform Hajj under the government arrangement while 91,758 under the private arrangement," Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the media after the weekly cabinet meeting.
He said that the proposed Umrah policy has been added to the existing Hajj policy.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting held at Bangladesh Secretariat.
Mr Bhuiyan said there will be two packages under the government management for Hajj.
He said the total cost for a pilgrim will stand at Tk 354,316 for package one while Tk 295,776 for package two.
He, however, said the total cost may vary due to the fluctuation of exchange rate of the US dollar and Saudi riyal.
"For both the government packages, the cost of qurbani (animal sacrifice) of around Tk 10,500 will be added to the total cost," he said.
He said the minimum cost for each pilgrim should not be less than Tk 295,776 under private management for ensuring adequate facilities for the pilgrims.
The cabinet secretary said the number of Hajj pilgrims during the current year will be less than that of the previous year due to the Saudi government decision to reduce the quota for pilgrims by 20 per cent as it has taken extensive renovation works at the Haram Sharif.
He said the holy Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on October 4, 2014 in Saudi Arabia subject to the sighting of the moon.
The cabinet also okayed the drafts of 'The Rangamati Hill District Council (Amendment) Bill, 2014', 'The Bandarban Hill District Council (Amendment) Bill, 2014' and 'The Khagrachhari Hill District Council (Amendment) Bill, 2014'.
The district councils have been constituted under three identical laws framed in 1989. Under the laws, there is a provision of forming 34-member district councils through direct elections.
Mr Bhuiyan said the government could constitute interim councils if there were no elected councils. As per the laws, these (district councils) are being run by five-member interim councils.
"The proposed amendments have been brought to strengthen the councils and run their additional responsibilities smoothly by expanding the size of the councils to 11 members," he said.
He said it will ensure greater participation of all ethnic minority groups living in the three hill districts.
"Apart from the chairman, seven members will be picked from the ethnic minority groups while the rest from non-ethnic minority communities," he said.
The meeting was also apprised about the visit of the health and family welfare minister to Saudi Arabia and Switzerland on February 9-11 this year.