Hajj agencies call for PM's intervention in airfare fixation

The country's Hajj agencies are not satisfied with the government's decision on fixation of the plane fare for Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims which was settled last Thursday. They want a reduction and fix the plane fare by forming an 'Independent Technical Committee' comprising experts in the aviation sector.
 
To ensure this, they have demanded the immediate interference of the Prime Minister before the Hajj packages for the private management pilgrims are announced. The Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) has submitted a prayer to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Sunday seeking her quick response, so that the sufferings of Bangladeshi pilgrims can be lessened this year.

On behalf of HAAB, an apex body of the country's Hajj and Umrah agencies, its President M. Shahadat Hossain Taslim signed the application submitted to the PMO.
Earlier on Thursday, the National Executive Committee on Hajj Management led by its chairman Faridul Haque Khan, also state minister for Religious Affairs, fixed the plane fare and finalized the Hajj packages for the government management pilgrims intending to perform Hajj this year.

HAAB President M. Shahadat Hossain Taslim was also present in the meeting and cleared his association's stance on reducing the plane fare claiming it as too high and illogical, Taslim told media at a press briefing after that meeting in presence of the state minister.

In the letter submitted to the PMO on Sunday, HAAB President Taslim said that the government has fixed the plane fare for this year's pilgrims at Tk 1,94,800 per person. It's only Tk 2,997 less than the previous year's plane fare.