Biman Bangladesh Airlines was forced to cancel three hajj flights yesterday due to shortage of pilgrims for various reasons, including failure of hajj agencies to buy tickets and arrange accommodations, Biman sources said.

With the three, the national flag carrier has so far cancelled 17 such flights since pre-hajj flight operation began on July 24, Shakil Meraj, general manager, public relations, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, told The Daily Star.

These flights were to carry over 7,000 pilgrims.

Some hajj agencies are yet to complete due formalities, including that for visas and accommodations, Biman sources said.   

A number of hajj flights scheduled for Friday and Saturday may also be cancelled, meaning trip of several thousand aspiring hajis will be uncertain, said a top Biman official.

As many as 177 flights were scheduled to carry hajj pilgrims. Of them, only 29 dedicated flights and eight scheduled flights took off for Saudi Arabia so far.

Some 1, 27,198 pilgrims are scheduled to perform hajj from Bangladesh this year under the government and private arrangements.

Abdul Jalil, secretary of religious affairs ministry, told this correspondent yesterday that so far 85,000 pilgrims got their visas. Of them, around 47,000 have flown to Saudi Arabia.

Against this backdrop, Biman Bangladesh Airlines will hold a press conference today at its Balaka Head Office to express its concern over sending pilgrims.

The hajj is scheduled to be performed on September 1 or 2, depending on moon sighting, and the last date to reach Saudi Arabia is August 26.

Meanwhile, Religious Affairs Minister Motiur Rahman yesterday asked the hajj agencies concerned to submit visa applications on behalf of the pilgrims by tomorrow.

"If any agency fails to submit the applications within this deadline, legal actions, including cancellation of hajj licence, will be taken against those agencies," he told reporters at the Hajj Camp at the capital's Ashkona, after a meeting with leaders of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (Haab).

"A list is being prepared and action will be taken against those hajj agencies responsible for visa complexities of hajj pilgrims. No one will be spared," he warned.

Those who did not get visas will get those by August 17, and they will all be able to reach Saudi Arabia by August 26.

Shahadat Hossain Taslim, secretary general of Haab, told The Daily Star that 48 agencies were initially late to submit visa applications for their clients.

Twenty-six agencies have since completed the process, and the rest must do so by August 10, he added.