Leaders of local Hajj and Umrah agencies placing a set of recommendations on Sunday demanded reducing air fare and rescheduling air ticket if any Umrah passenger becomes positive in Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) coronavirus test before flying to Saudi Arabia for performing Umrah.
They also called upon the government to recommend that the government of Saudi Arabia allow passengers travelling from Bangladesh for Umrah purposes to take Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine.
They also requested the Bangladesh government to discuss with the Saudi authorities about restoring Dhaka-Madina direct flight as it will help cut travelling hours from Bangladesh to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
They placed the recommendations at a webinar titled "Challenges and Management to perform holy Umrah during Covid-19 Pandemic" organised by the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh or HAAB in the capital.
President of HAAB M Shahadat Hossain Taslim moderated the cloud meeting.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali said the government was ready to restore Dhaka-Madina direct flight if the Saudi government gave their consent in this regard.
Saying that bilateral discussions on the issue were ongoing, he hoped that it will see the light soon.
KSA Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan said considering religious and spiritual feelings of the Muslim Ummah, the Royal Saudi government opened up the opportunity for performing holy Umrah by maintaining health-safety guidelines during the ongoing pandemic.
State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan as the chief guest said all the ministries concerned were sincerely working in a coordinated way to ensure smooth performance of Umrah by Bangladeshis.
He thanked the Royal Saudi government for allowing Bangladeshis to perform Umrah.
A total of 247 agencies were given permission to deal with Umrah, he said, adding more agencies will be allowed to handle the same affairs.
He assured that his ministry would approach the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism for reducing the air fare for Umrah.
He hoped that the Saudi Airlines and Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd as well as the civil aviation authorities of the two countries will work closely to facilitate a hassle free and smooth journey of Bangladeshi pilgrims to perform Umrah.
He said the government took an initiative to develop Hajj and Umrah management to help local pilgrims perform Hajj and Umrah without facing any hassle.
HAAB President M Shahadat Hossain Taslim hoped that the Saudi Hajj agencies would look after Bangladeshi Umrah pilgrims in Saudi Arabia as this year the local agencies would not do that there.
He thanked the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka for extending all-out cooperation in performing Hajj and Umrah by Bangladeshi pilgrims.
Secretary to the Ministry of Religious Affairs Nurul Islam PhD, Bangladesh Hajj counsellor in Jeddah, KSA Jahirul Islam, Director (Hajj) Saiful Islam, country manager of Saudi Arabia Airlines Tarik Alowaidi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal also, among others, took part in the webinar.
