Hajj quota remains unfulfilled despite nine deadline extensions

Bangladesh has failed to fulfill its hajj quota this year even after extending the registration deadline nine times, with the latest being expired on 25 April, enrolling a total of 120,491 pilgrims. 

Around 6,500 of the total hajj quota still remains unfulfilled, according to the information available in the website of the Religious Affairs Ministry.

"The deadline has been extended nine times this year. Still, there are some quotas left. We don't have much time now. So, even if the quota is not fulfilled, the hajj registration deadline will not be further extended this year," said State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan at the launching event of "e-Hajj" mobile app at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

The first hajj flight from Bangladesh will be operated on 21 May, he informed.

The state minister added, "There is a global recession due to the Ukraine-Russia war. This economic recession has affected Muslim countries. As a result, the number of pilgrims from Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and India has decreased".

"However, in such a scenario, the number of pilgrims from Bangladesh is better than other countries," Faridul said, adding, "As the financial capacity of the people of Bangladesh is good, around 120,000 hajj pilgrims have made the final registration".

As per the agreement between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, a total of 1.27 lakh Bangladeshi nationals are allowed to perform hajj this year.

However, of the total 120,491 registered pilgrims, 15,000 will perform hajj under government management while 1.12 lakh will perform the holy ritual under private management.

From the beginning of the hajj registration process, the stakeholders feared that Bangladesh might fail to fulfil the quota as hajj costs have increased by at least Tk1.50 lakh, compared to last year.

The Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (Haab) has mainly blamed Biman Bangladesh Airlines for the high airfare that has driven up the total cost of the hajj package.

Secretary General of the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (Haab) Faruque Ahmed Sarder told The Business Standard, "The quota system [for hajj] has been in effect for a long time, and we always had hajj pilgrims relatively less than that. We had fulfilled the quota for the last time in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. Otherwise, many quotas would remain vacant. From that aspect, the quota can be said fulfilled, with only a little left".

However, hajj is expected to take place on 27 June this year, depending on the moon sighting.