Chief Advisor Yunus asks authorities to launch 'Hajj management centre'

The chief advisor also directs the Hajj agencies to publish their responsibilities online and in a booklet

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has instructed the authorities to provide "round-the-clock" services to the pilgrims by launching a Hajj management centre to make the Hajj pilgrimage easy, delightful, and safe.

He came up with the directives at a meeting of the national committee for Hajj management at the State Guest House “Jamuna” on Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement issued by the Chief Advisor’s Office on Tuesday.

The chief advisor said there, "Almighty Allah has given us an opportunity to make the Hajj pilgrimage easy and we should make the best use of this. Every effort must be made to ensure that no pilgrim suffers."

There are 1,275 licensed Hajj agencies in Bangladesh.

Out of them, 941 agencies are eligible for Haj activities, 753 are registering agencies, and 70 are lead agencies.

The chief advisor instructs the agencies to publish their responsibilities in the form of a booklet and online.

He said, "It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the agencies perform their duties properly and take strict action if they fail to do so.

“The entire Hajj process should be simple and clear. What are the responsibilities of the government and the agencies - all this should be clearly written."

He continued, “There should be a clear guideline on what to do if someone gets lost, falls ill, loses luggage or faces any other problem. This booklet should be given to every pilgrim. Steps should also be taken to give more importance to women and children.

"A Hajj management centre should be set up in the country itself so that services can be ensured through constant monitoring.

"The complaints that come to the call centre should be monitored immediately from here. A website should be made where all the pilgrims will be connected.”

Yunus also asks the authorities to monitor the complaints to decide about future action plans.

"All complaints should be recorded along with information about how many of these have been resolved and how many have not. Proper steps should be taken by discussing these complaints so that they do not jump in next year."

The interim government head has also asked the authorities to cancel the licence of any agency if it fails to perform its duties.

"Agencies must be reviewed upon the experience of the pilgrims. It should be monitored whether the agency has training or not. Based on the training of the staff, the agencies should be divided into 'A', 'B', 'C', and 'D' categories. Agencies that fail to meet the standards will have their licences revoked."

In addition, the chief advisor recommended introducing Hajj credit cards and tag copies for luggage management from the following year.

He said, “Introduction of Hajj credit cards will reduce the Hajj pilgrims’ sufferings. The remaining amount will be refunded after the pilgrims return home.

“Luggage is often lost. Therefore, the tag can be copied after check-in. There will be a list of luggage tags in the management centre.”

This year, a total of 5,200 people in government management and 81,900 in private management have registered for Hajj.

The government has decided not to send anyone to Hajj at government expense this year.