Fresh Hajj packages announced

19 April 2010, 18:00 PM

Unb, Dhaka

The Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) yesterday announced fresh Hajj packages under private management for the upcoming pilgrimage session of 2010. The minimum rate of the Hajj packages is Tk 2,30,000 per pilgrim, excluding the sacrificial animal usually offered by the faithful on Eid-ul-Azha, the festival following the pilgrimage. HAAB President Mohammad Ibrahim Bahar said this at a press conference in a city hotel after an emergency general meeting. Bahar said all agencies will be allowed to announce two packages -- one Tk 2.30 lakh package and the other according to the agency's services. He also pointed that the government has announced that 75,000 pilgrims will be making the journey to Saudi Arabia this year. Of them, 60,000 are going under the private management and 15,000 under the government's scheme. The HAAB president urged the government to renew the licences of 62 agencies that were revoked during the military-backed caretaker government. He also placed a set of demands at the press conference aimed at easing the tribulations of the pilgrims.