Replacement Pilgrims: Agents want more swaps

Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (Haab) has requested the religious affairs ministry to increase the number of replacement hajis to 10 percent from seven percent of the total pilgrims sent from each agency.

Hajj officials, however, say the move is aimed at taking more money from the pilgrims.

Replacement hajis are those who can perform the ritual in case any registered haji cannot go to Saudi Arabia for some reason or have passed away.

The number of such hajis was five percent last year. But, this year it was raised to seven percent following hajj agencies' demands.

"The hajj agencies are now demanding 10 percent replacement hajis only for extra money,” Bazlul Haq Biswas, a former director at Ashkona Hajj Camp, said.

Many agencies take Tk 10,000 to Tk 30,000 extra from replacement hajis, he said, adding that many attempts were made in the past to show registered pilgrims dead on paper to send more hajis.

Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal, the immediate past director at Ashkona Hajj Camp, told The Daily Star yesterday that an old man came from Pabna in 2016 and told him that his agent was not sending him to Saudi Arabia although he had paid all the money.

Kamal said the hajj agency concerned had told him that the man was dead.

Hajj officials at the Ashkona Hajj Camp said like previous years, a section of unscrupulous hajj agencies have started playing “dirty games” over replacement hajis.

“When I was the director of Ashkona Hajj Camp for six years, hajj agencies used to play the same dirty game. I got many complaints from hajis that agencies did not send them to Saudi Arabia taking more money from other pilgrims,” Bazlul said.

Following a discussion with Religious Affairs Minister Motiur Rahman on Sunday night, Shahadat Hossain Taslim, secretary general of Haab, last night told The Daily Star that his organisation yesterday formally requested the ministry to increase the number of replacement hajis and extend the deadline in this regard.

According to the latest decision, the last date for completing all procedures regarding replacement hajis was scheduled to end today.

Saiful Islam, director at the Ashkona Hajj Camp, yesterday told The Daily Star that they will take stern legal actions if they found any hajj agency involved in such fraudulence.

Asked, Taslim said they have asked the government to take action if any agency was found involved in corruption and irregularities.

Meanwhile, Biman has taken a 406-seater Boeing on lease to operate hajj flights smoothly, Shakil Meraj, public relation, Biman Bangladesh Airlines told The Daily Star.

He also said another Boeing aircraft with the same capacity is likely to be added to the hajj fleet within three to four days.

Both the aircraft was leased for three months from Malaysia, he added.