The registration period for the 2025 Hajj ended on Sunday (December 15). Despite reducing the cost of Hajj by more than one lakh taka compared to last year and increasing the time in stages, the pilgrims have not responded. More than half of the quotas are still empty.
According to the Hajj portal as of 9:30 pm on Sunday, out of the quota of 1 lakh 27 thousand 198 people, 65 thousand 60 pilgrims have registered for the final registration. And about 8 thousand pilgrims have submitted vouchers to the bank to go for Hajj. In total, 70 thousand pilgrims have registered to perform Hajj next year. On the other hand, the Saudi government has given 1 lakh 27 thousand 198 quotas to Bangladeshis for Hajj next year. As a result, about 57 thousand Hajj quotas are still empty.
Out of a total of 64 thousand 651 pilgrims, 4 thousand 761 have registered officially and 59 thousand 890 have registered privately. About 8,000 pilgrims have deposited money in the bank. If you deposit money in a regular bank, it takes one working day to deposit. Accordingly, the money of those who deposited money on Sunday will be deposited on Tuesday (December 17) because Monday (December 16) is a government holiday for the Great Victory Day.
When asked whether the time will be extended, Joint Secretary (Hajj Division) of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Dr. Md. Manjurul Haque said, the time has been extended three times this year. Due to the ultimatum of the Saudi government, it is not possible to extend the time anymore.
He said, if the money of the pilgrims is not sent to the Saudi government by December 22, the tent number 5 allocated for Bangladeshis will not be available. Other countries have started booking tents. Therefore, it has become urgent to send the money of those who have registered to the Saudi government.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs is concerned about the lack of desired response in Hajj registration despite reducing costs. In such a situation, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has written to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism to reduce the air fare to meet the Hajj quota.
Recently, Religious Affairs Adviser Dr. AFM Khalid Hossain has given a demi-official letter (DO) to Civil Aviation and Tourism Adviser AF Hasan Arif to reduce the airfare by another Tk. 27,820 to Tk. 1,040,000.
In the DO, Khalid Hossain said that if the airfare is reduced, it will be easier to fulfill Bangladesh's Hajj quota. The country's respect for the Saudi government will increase. Biman Bangladesh Airlines will also benefit commercially.
On October 30, 2025, the government officially announced two packages for going to Hajj. According to the announced affordable package, the cost has been estimated at Tk. 4,79,242. The other package has an estimated cost of Tk. 5,75,680. In these packages, the airfare has been reduced by at least Tk. 27,000 compared to 2024. However, in the government package, the pilgrims have been asked to take Tk. 40,000 for food and 750 Saudi riyals for the sacrifice separately. Last year, the food price was included in the package. In coordination with the government package, private agency owners also announced multiple packages. Along with this, they have been demanding a reduction in airfare.
The holy Hajj will be held on June 5 next year, subject to the sighting of the moon.