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Of the 127,198 seats available to Bangladeshis, the initial registration has filled 83,527
Published : 27 Dec 2024, 12:21 PM
The deadline for the preliminary and primary registration period for the 2025 Hajj pilgrimages has ended, according to the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Though the full Hajj quota has not been met, the ministry will not be extending the period further.
Mamun Al Faruque, deputy secretary of the Hajj Wing of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told bdnews24.com on Friday: “The preliminary and primary registration period for the 2025 Hajj will not be increased further. We will have to send the [list of registrants] to the Saudi government soon.”
Like other years, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has extended the Hajj period several times this time too. However, as in several recent instances, Bangladesh could not fill the Hajj quota allocated by the Saudi Arabian government this time.
According to the Hajj portal of the Ministry of Religion, 83,527 people have completed their initial registration for the Islamic pilgrimage as of 11:15am on Friday.
Of those who registered, 4,980 people have registered for the government package and 78,547 people have registered through the private sector.
The Saudi government allocated a quota of 127,198 pilgrims to Bangladesh for Hajj in 2025. Accordingly, the initial registration period for this year's Hajj ended with 43,671 quota seats left vacant.
Although the same quota was allocated from Bangladesh in 2024, 85,257 people went for the pilgrimage. Accordingly, 1,730 fewer pilgrims have registered so far compared to the last time.
The pilgrims under government and private arrangements are supposed to hire tents, houses and hotels in Mina by Feb 14, 2025, following the Saudi Arabian government’s roadmap, a notification issued by the ministry said on Dec 19.
The ministry initially announced on Aug 25 that registration would begin on Sept 1 and conclude by Nov 30. However, the deadline was shortened to Oct 23 and later reverted to Nov 30.
On Nov 28, the deadline was extended to Dec 15, and now it has been pushed back to Dec 26.
The Hajj for 2025 is scheduled to take place on Jun 5, subject to the sighting of the moon.
Pilgrims must deposit Tk 300,000 to complete preliminary registration, with the remaining package cost payable during final registration. The government has set Jan 15 as the deadline for final registration. If someone wishes, they can also pay the total amount during pre-registration.
Once a pilgrim is ‘pre-registered’, they are allocated a number. If that number is selected for the Hajj pilgrimage, the applicant is notified via SMS and website.
On Oct 30, the ministry introduced two packages for government-managed Hajj pilgrims.
The "general" Package-1 is priced at Tk 478,242, while the cost of Package-2 starts at Tk 575,680.
Meal expenses are not included in these packages. Pilgrims will need to carry an additional Tk 40,000 for food and 750 Saudi Riyals for the sacrificial offering.
While Package-1 offers lower costs, accommodations under this package are situated farther from Makkah and Madinah.
Private Hajj agencies announced their packages on Nov 6, offering a "general" package at Tk 523,000 and a "special" package at Tk 699,000, both inclusive of meal expenses.
Pilgrims under private packages must also carry 750 Saudi Riyals for sacrificial offerings.
This time, the government reduced the price of the main Hajj package by reducing the airfare by about Tk 27,000 to try and meet the quota. However, the cost of the Hajj package did not decrease when the cost of food and animal sacrifice was taken into consideration.
