Govt blames runaway exchange rate for hike in Hajj package fees

State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque Khan today said that the government had to increase the Hajj package fees due to the rising exchange rate of the US dollar and Saudi Riyal against the local currency.

"We haven't increased any cost of Hajj management from our side. We have to increase the expenditure due to higher price of SR and US Dollars. The price of SR was only Tk21 in 2022 while it's now Tk29 per SR," he said.

The minister made these remarks while addressing a seminar titled 'Hajj Packages 2023 and Management' organised by Religious Reporters' Forum (RRF] in Dhaka at a city hotel.

"We could lessen the cost by sending our pilgrims under 'D' category packages. But the pilgrims would not be satisfied with the services offered under that category," said the minister

In his speech, Faridul Haque Khan admitted the sufferings of the pilgrims over the higher fees and assured that he would talk to the prime minister for setting up a fairer and more transparent procedure in time for next year's pilgrimage so that Hajj fees and plane fares can be fixed in a logical manner.

Shahadat Hossain Taslim, president of HAAB, the association of Hajj agencies, called on the prime minister to reconsider the Hajj package fees set for Bangladeshi pilgrims and deduct the higher costs from the packages to ease the pain of the pilgrims.