More than half of Bangladesh's quota for prospective Hajj pilgrims has remained unfilled even after the government extended the registration deadline three times in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
Only 3,457 people registered for the pilgrimage under the government's programme by the latest deadline of April 30, with another 61,137 aspirants opting for private management, an Islamic Foundation official said.
According to bdnews24.com, Bangladesh had an agreement with Saudi Arabia to send up to 137,198 pilgrims to perform Hajj this year, including 17,198 pilgrims under the government's management and 120,000 under private management.
But the tally of registrations currently stands at 64,594.
The Hajj is set to be performed on July 30, depending on the sighting of the moon.
However, the global pandemic has cast doubts over this year's pilgrimage after Saudi Arabia, in an unprecedented move, suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage over fears of the new coronavirus spreading to Islam's holiest cities.
The kingdom has yet to finalise a plan for this year's Hajj under the circumstances.
The ministry of religious affairs had extended the deadline for Hajj registration three times amid the uncertainty. State Minister for Religious Affairs Sheikh Md Abdullah called on aspiring pilgrims to put aside their doubts and register.
Addressing the failure to fill this year's quota, Abdullah said: “I had arranged a press conference and urged everyone to register. I assured them that they’ll not lose their money even if they fail to make the pilgrimage.”
“Some pilgrims have registered but the decision to suspend the Umrah really affected the response. But many people have registered on the basis of our assurances,” he said.
On the fate of this year's Hajj, the state minister said, “Everything now depends on the coronavirus situation. If Allah permits, those who have registered will get to perform the Hajj. We will inform you if the ministry comes to a new decision.”
Islamic Foundation Director Anisur Rahman Sarkar does not believe the failure to fill the quota is a major setback. "This isn't really an issue as 64,594 is still a big number,” he said.
Hajj registration had started on mar 1 with a deadline on Mar 15. But people stopped registering after Bangladesh reported its first COVID-19 cases on Mar 8.
