Muslim devotees intending to perform Hajj have to submit one-third of the registration fee by February 5, while being allowed to pay the rest of the amount of the whole package in installments, according to a decision of the cabinet committee.
Hajj performers going under government management (category A) will have to deposit Tk51,690 while those going through government managements (category B) will have to pay Tk48,331 by February 5.
The rest of the amount will be due by June 10.
A cabinet committee meeting yesterday approved a proposal from the Ministry of Religious Affairs to allow payment of Hajj fees in installments, keeping with the interest of a smooth payment of registration fees.
The hajj packages will cost Tk296,206 and Tk354,745 for “A” and “B” categories respectively. All Hajj performers are to pay Tk10,500 (500 Saudi Real) for sacrificing animals during Hajj.
Under package A, the pilgrims will pay Tk296,206 while under package B they will pay a total of Tk354,745.
After the cabinet committee meeting, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain told reporters that many Hajj agencies and officials had requested the Hajj fee to be reduced since many performers are unable to gather the money on short notice.
Since that is not possible, the performers will get the facility to pay in instalments.
“They have demanded a reduction of the Hajj registration fee but it is not possible to reduce the fee,” he said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Religious Affairs had said the Saudi government in a letter had requested the Bangladesh government to complete Hajj registration by January 21-22.
So far, a total of 152,690 Bangladeshis are expected to perform Hajj under package A while a total of 148,331 persons are under package B.
Hajj will be observed in Saudi Arabia on September 22 this year depending on the sighting of the moon.
