The Hajj flights that will carry Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia will begin on August 27, the government has announced.
Religious Affairs Secretary Chowdhury Md Babul Hasan made the disclosure yesterday, saying three Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircrafts will be used for the special Hajj service this year.
A total of 98,762 hajis will make the pilgrimage this year, he said, adding, the government would make arrangements for 1,600 of those people and the rest would go through 835 Hajj agencies.
Babul made the comments in a press conference following an inter-ministerial meeting regarding Hajj preparations at the seminar room of the Religious Affairs Ministry.
He said: “We have already finished all the preparations for Hajj. The first Hajj flight will start on August 27 and the flights will continue until September 28.” The return flights will start from October 9 and continue until November 7, he said.
The secretary said the hajis are scheduled to arrive at the Ashkona Hajj camp on August 24, while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to inaugurate the camp on August 26.
When asked about the initiative to create awareness among the hajis regarding the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV), Babul said the Health Ministry has been conducting mass awareness regarding this disease.
When questioned about the 141 people who could not go to Saudi Arabia last year because of their agents’ negligence, the secretary said the money of 124 of those pilgrims had been recovered and attempts are on to send them on Hajj this year.