Hajj Pilgrims: All likely to make it

Almost all the pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia to perform hajj by last night, officials at the Hajj Camp, Biman Bangladesh and Saudi Airlines say.

“Of the 126,249 intended pilgrims, around 125,480 have gone to Saudi Arabia as of last night. The remaining 769 pilgrims will fly to Saudi Arabia tomorrow [today],” Saiful Islam, director, Hajj Camp at the city's Ashkona, told The Daily Star yesterday.

“We hope there will be no problems for the rest as Biman and Saudi Airlines have three more hajj flights scheduled for tomorrow [today], the last day for sending pilgrims,” he added.

Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) Secretary General Shahadat Hossain Taslim said, “I can assure you that not a single pilgrim will be left at the Hajj Camp. Everyone will be sent to Saudi Arabia.”

A top official of the central control of Biman told this correspondent that they operated four out of eight additional hajj flights yesterday.

Seeking anonymity, the Biman official added as of last night, Biman carried 64,443 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

“Biman is scheduled to fly three more hajj flights tomorrow [today],” he said, adding, “I think one or two flights are enough to carry the rest of the pilgrims.” 

Omar Khayyam, acting manager of marketing and sales, Saudi Arabian Airlines, yesterday told The Daily Star that they have already carried most of 62,300 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

“The remaining pilgrims will fly to Saudi Arabia tomorrow [today],” he added.

Since the hajj flights began on July 24, there was uncertainty over sending every pilgrim to Saudi Arabia due to various reasons including irresponsibility and neglect of private hajj tour operators in completing visa process and additional charges for repeat pilgrims imposed by the Saudi authorities.

Biman was forced to cancel 24 hajj flights, while Saudi Airlines had to cancel three as the hajj agencies failed to bring in the pilgrims scheduled to fly. Those 27 flights could have carried more than 12,000 pilgrims.

Frequent cancellation of flights created utter uncertainty over sending all the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia by the August 26 deadline.

Biman later got permission to operate 20 additional flights in two phases. The Saudi authorities also extended the deadline from August 26 to August 28 paving the way for sending all the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

Hajj, the annual largest congregation of the Muslims, is likely to start on September 1.

HAAB BRIEFING

The HAAB at an emergency briefing yesterday called upon the government to stop the reign of brokers and middlemen in the hajj process for good.

“The pilgrims had to suffer or be cheated this year due to fraudulence of the brokers and middlemen in most cases. We want to stop their activities once and for all,” HAAB Secretary General Shahadat Hossain Taslim told the briefing at the Hajj Camp.

“If the government cannot stop their activities, they should be brought under legal obligations to ensure their accountability,” he added.

He also called upon the government to take stern legal action against the hajj agencies responsible for the pilgrims' sufferings due to their neglect.