The Ministry of Religious Affairs has directed Hajj agencies to put flight data in Saudi’s e-Hajj portal on time.
At the same time, the agencies have been warned not to take Qurbani money from the pilgrims, reads a press release signed by Abu Bakar Siddique, the public relations officer of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Apart from this, Hajj agencies have been cautioned against sending Zarda cartons through Hajj pilgrims, which hampers the country’s image.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs issued these instructions after a virtual meeting with Abdur Rahman, director general of the Jeddah Airport Service of the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, around 7:30 pm Bangladesh time on 12 May.
The Bangladesh Hajj Office, Makkah and Jeddah officials as well as representatives of Hajj agencies also participated in this meeting.
During the meeting, dissatisfaction was expressed over agencies not entering the requested flight data on Saudi Arabia’s e-Hajj system. The lack of data makes it difficult for the Madina and Jeddah airport authorities to keep track of Hajj pilgrims.
As a result, they have no way of knowing how many pilgrims are on which flight, which Muallem they are under, and which hotel or house they are staying in, etc. Other than this, there is also the problem of arranging transportation for the pilgrims and their luggage. Moallem’s representatives are often not providing services at the hotels or homes.
Due to this, appropriate services are not being provided to the pilgrims, which also limits their access to the benefits of the route-to-Makkah, said speakers at the event.
If flight data is not entered correctly, disciplinary action will be taken against the concerned agency, warned the religious affairs ministry.
Despite it being forbidden in the Hajj package, many agencies are charging pilgrims for Qurbani before completing Hajj. Pilgrims will perform the Qurbani according to their wishes either by purchasing a Saudi government bank coupon, or by their own arrangement.
Agencies will not be allowed to take the Qurbani money in any way. The Ministry of Religious Affairs said that legal action will be taken against agencies violating this rule if specific complaints are received.
