50,000 Bangladeshis unlikely to be able to perform Hajj this year
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Naim-Ul-Karim
About 50,000 pilgrims of the country are unlikely to be able to perform Hajj smoothly this year escaping hurdles unless the government intensifies monitoring on preparation of Hajj from now on, sources said.
They said the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) could not book accommodation for pilgrims yet, as they were not given flight schedule.
Bangladesh Biman, failed to get information of allocation of slots from the Jeddah airport authority yet, could not let the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the HAAB know flight schedule, a Biman official said.
In such circumstances, sources said, the ministry concerned Monday convened a meeting at the secretariat with ASM Matiur Rahman, adviser for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, in the chair.
Sheikh Altaf Ali, secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, M Ataur Rahman, secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, M A Momen, managing director of Biman, Md Abdullah, director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Maulana Eyakub Sharafati, secretary general of HAAB, attended the meeting.
"We discussed all issues in connection with performance of Hajj," said a ministry official who attended the meeting.
He said the managing director of Biman assured the meeting that Saudi Airlines would transport 10,000 Hajj pilgrims this year while Bangladesh Biman would carry the rest.
Talking to the FE, Sheikh Altaf Ali, secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, quoting the managing director of Biman, said the Jeddah airport authority is expected to allocate slots soon to the Bangladesh Biman.
Sources said, during the meeting, the adviser expressed his dissatisfaction with the preparatory works and asked all concerned to perform duties with caution.
They said the meeting held Monday was scheduled to be held Sunday but due to non-participation of some officials it was postponed.
"It would be difficult for us to book residence in case of further delay in getting information on flight schedule," Maulana Eyakub Sharafati, secretary general of HAAB, said.
Apart from this, sources said, a committee headed by the Bangladesh consul general in Jeddah, assigned to book accommodation for about 5,583 ballottee Hajj pilgrims, is yet to report to the Ministry of Religious Affairs though it was asked to report by September 15.
Last year, at least nine Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims died due to collapse of a building in Makkah while thousands suffered because of poor management.
Last year several hundred pilgrims went on demonstration at Zia International Airport and laid siege to the Motijheel police station, as they could not perform Hajj due to non-availability of seats in aircraft and misappropriation of their money by some travel agents.
About 50,000 pilgrims of the country are unlikely to be able to perform Hajj smoothly this year escaping hurdles unless the government intensifies monitoring on preparation of Hajj from now on, sources said.
They said the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) could not book accommodation for pilgrims yet, as they were not given flight schedule.
Bangladesh Biman, failed to get information of allocation of slots from the Jeddah airport authority yet, could not let the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the HAAB know flight schedule, a Biman official said.
In such circumstances, sources said, the ministry concerned Monday convened a meeting at the secretariat with ASM Matiur Rahman, adviser for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, in the chair.
Sheikh Altaf Ali, secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, M Ataur Rahman, secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, M A Momen, managing director of Biman, Md Abdullah, director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Maulana Eyakub Sharafati, secretary general of HAAB, attended the meeting.
"We discussed all issues in connection with performance of Hajj," said a ministry official who attended the meeting.
He said the managing director of Biman assured the meeting that Saudi Airlines would transport 10,000 Hajj pilgrims this year while Bangladesh Biman would carry the rest.
Talking to the FE, Sheikh Altaf Ali, secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, quoting the managing director of Biman, said the Jeddah airport authority is expected to allocate slots soon to the Bangladesh Biman.
Sources said, during the meeting, the adviser expressed his dissatisfaction with the preparatory works and asked all concerned to perform duties with caution.
They said the meeting held Monday was scheduled to be held Sunday but due to non-participation of some officials it was postponed.
"It would be difficult for us to book residence in case of further delay in getting information on flight schedule," Maulana Eyakub Sharafati, secretary general of HAAB, said.
Apart from this, sources said, a committee headed by the Bangladesh consul general in Jeddah, assigned to book accommodation for about 5,583 ballottee Hajj pilgrims, is yet to report to the Ministry of Religious Affairs though it was asked to report by September 15.
Last year, at least nine Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims died due to collapse of a building in Makkah while thousands suffered because of poor management.
Last year several hundred pilgrims went on demonstration at Zia International Airport and laid siege to the Motijheel police station, as they could not perform Hajj due to non-availability of seats in aircraft and misappropriation of their money by some travel agents.