A senior journalist is now staying in Medina after performing the holy Hajj. On Monday (June 24), he wrote on Facebook, "I went to Medina for the Hajj mission with body aches and 103 degree fever." They don't seem to have time to listen to the whole narrative. The doctor prescribed Azithromycin and Paracetamol. They also gave the same antibiotic to a patient for hand blisters. Antibiotic is the medicine of all diseases! When will this crisis of Hajj mission end?
Under that status, one commented, 'I took my mother who was sick, but they didn't care a bit; Didn't even give medicine - grossly negligent. Their job is to be busy with themselves.' Another wrote, 'When I first visited in 2000, I was still disappointed to witness the activities at the mission.'
Complaints about Hajj mission of Bangladesh in Medina are not new, there are many complaints about Hajj mission in Makkah as well. Many people have complained that the people of the Hajj mission were not seen in Mina-Arafat and Muzdalifah during the five days of Hajj. However, 453 people have gone for Hajj at government expense this year with the aim of providing round-the-clock services to Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims. The government will spend Tk. 15 crore for this. But speaking to Barta24.com, government and private officials complained that none of this huge fleet was seen at the required time.
Arafat Maidan, Muzdalifa and especially in Mina, people have to suffer a lot. In Muzdalifah going from the open Maidan to the Jamarat and not recognizing the particular tent of the pilgrims who defected from the Jamarat had to wander from street to street tired and hungry. Volunteers from different countries were seen to help in the hot environment without shade and water, but no Bangladeshi volunteer was found.
Apart from this, there is a serious mistake in the map uploaded by the Bangladesh government on Hajjportal. No. 58 and No. 59 Maktab have been swapped. Looking at this map, I had to go around more. Apart from this, there is no effective helpline for Hajj pilgrims from the Bangladesh government. Getting services from the vast fleet of Hajj service providers at government expense has become a matter of sheer luck. This is how a pilgrim from Saudi Arabia was talking about their helplessness and suffering.
The retired bureaucrat who went to perform Hajj under private management was very consciously talking about the suffering of other pilgrims instead of his own suffering. According to him, Mina-Arafat-Muzdalifah and Jamara are all Hajj. If there is no volunteer to be found here, then there is nothing sadder than that.
A woman named Sumayya is staying in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj with 7 members of her family. Her experience is worse. According to her, I do not know what happened this year! I had to go through a lot these few days. All pilgrims had to suffer. Neither the Saudi government nor the Bangladesh government nor Moyallem behaved well. People have been crying for 1 bottle of water in 45 degree heat. People were crying all around. Everyone sought some shelter and shade in the intense heat. A large number of volunteers from Pakistan and India served the Hajis of their respective countries on the streets. But no Bangladeshi volunteers were found.
This year, the government decided to stop going to Hajj at government expense in the name of Haji service. The Ministry of Religion did not accept that decision. Because this time 30 officials of different ministries have gone for Hajj. Again, a group of 10 members went to Hajj at the government expense to assist the Hajj pilgrims with providing news about Hajj management.
Officials related to the Ministry of Religion said that officials of various ministries, divisions and some media workers have joined the group to go for Hajj with state funds by lobbying in various ways. Apart from this, the Secretary and Minister of the Ministry of Religion have added some of their choice to this group. This list also includes people who have performed Hajj more than once. Although about Tk. 15 crore were spent, Hajis were not benefitted in any way, it is quite clear from Haji's words.
Although those sent to serve the Hajj pilgrims are conditioned to provide round-the-clock service to the Hajj pilgrims. But it is not clear who will provide what kind of services. It is further stated that the team members will be deemed to be on full-time duty. But nothing is said about their personal food and rest. Many people on the Hajj list at government expense have no knowledge of Hajj.
Barta24.com spoke to several of the enlisted men, who could not be specific about their duties, but got a general answer that they went to 'serve Haji Sahib'.
And the Ministry of Religion says that according to the decision of the Saudi government, members of the Hajj service team have no opportunity to perform Hajj. Those enrolled say that every year they are told that Hajj cannot be performed. But everyone came for Hajj.
According to the sources of the Ministry of Religion, this time the people who went for Hajj at the government expense have deposited Tk. 1 lakh 94 thousand 800 taka for the air tickets. Apart from this, each person has to deposit Tk. 35 thousand to the Hajj office for the cost of food. A senior official of the ministry said that the government will bear all the expenses except the air fare. The government will spend Tk. 4 lakh for each.
Many groups have gone to Saudi Arabia this year to serve Hajis. The Hajj delegation led by Religion Minister Faridul Haque Khan includes seven secretaries and senior secretaries of various ministries and divisions, two additional secretaries, two parliamentarians and an election commissioner. In the 55-member Hajj administrative team, there are 22 officials from various ministries and divisions and 33 from the Ministry of Religion. The 74-member Hajj administrative support team includes 22 peons and 12 drivers from the Ministry of Religion. The 25-member technical team includes seven computer operators from the Ministry of Religion. There are 289 people in the integrated Hajj medical team. Among them 85 doctors, 55 nurses, 24 pharmacists, 25 OT/lab assistants. Here too, the number of people working in the Islamic Mission project of the Islamic Foundation is large. The concerned officials said that many officials of these groups do not know anything about the work of the concerned groups.
On the other hand, there have been allegations of forming groups with non-journalists in the name of journalists to perform Hajj at government expense. The Minister of Religion and the Secretary made a list of 10 people with the names of three journalists from their respective areas. Here too, the Ministry of Religion resorted to trickery. In the announcement of publication of the list of journalists, without mentioning who is working in which media, the announcement is published with their names and passport numbers. They have been asked to assist Hajj pilgrims by providing news about Hajj management in Bangladesh including Makkah, Medina, Mina and Arafat Maidan. But except for two people, no one else reported any news.
Last year (2023) 7 people were warned for traveling to Taif without informing the Hajis. On the other hand, the High Court upheld the suspension of the nine nurses who were not named in the medical team one or more times for various irregularities including registration as a nurse without being a nurse in the integrated Hajj medical team, overage, and so they could not go to Saudi Arabia. Earlier, the Ministry of Religion excluded four persons from the revision of the list due to various complaints.
In these cases it is easy to guess, why so desperate to go to Saudi Arabia in the name of service? Contacting several officials of the Ministry of Religion and Hajj Mission to know about the complaint did not get any response.