Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has inspected the Ashkona Hajj camp and inaugurated Hajj flights, kicking off the journeys of Muslim devotees setting off on their pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The prime minister met the Hajj pilgrims travelling on the first Biman Bangladesh flight around 11:30 pm on Friday, said his Additional Press Secretary Atiqur Rahman Rumon.
He said, “The [prime minister], Mr Tarique Rahman, first inaugurated the Hajj camp. There, he embraced pilgri
He also inaugurated a medical camp there, bdnews24.com reports.
“Afterwards, the prime minister boarded the first Hajj flight -- that is, the Bangladesh Biman flight -- and spoke to the pilgrims and prayed that they reach Saudi Arabia safely. Through this, the [prime minister] inspected the Hajj camp and later inaugurated the Hajj flights.”
The additional press secretary said, “The [prime minister] spoke to the pilgrims and asked them to pray for the country, the nation and the people of the country.”
“The prime minister said that her government has worked to resolve the problems faced by pilgrims during Hajj. He expressed the hope that the system would be further improved in the future.”
The prime minister was accompanied by Religious Affairs Minister Kazi Shah Mofazzal Houssain Kaikobad, Civil Aviation Minister Afroza Khanam Rita, State Minister for Civil Aviation Rashiduzzaman Millat, Saudi Ambassador Abdullah bin Abiyah, Religious Affairs Secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad, Civil Aviation Secretary Fahmida Akhtar, and Civil Aviation Authority Chairman Air Vice Marshal Mostafa Mahmood Siddiq.
The first flight, carrying 419 pilgrims, will set off for King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah at 12:20 am on Saturday.
Fourteen flights are scheduled in the opening slot. Of them, six flights will be operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines and four each by the Saudi-based Saudia Airlines, and Flynas Airlines.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism said overall preparations for Hajj management are already complete.
According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, nearly 78,500 people from Bangladesh will perform Hajj.
Of them, 4,565 pilgrims will travel on government packages and the rest under private management.
There will be 207 pre-Hajj flights, including 102 by the national flag carrier, which will end on May 21.
The Hajj is likely to be held on May 26, subject to the sighting of the moon. After the Hajj formalities, the return flights will start on May 30 and end on July 1.