WITH 4,000 tickets of the national flag carrier Biman still unsold Saudi Hajj and Umrah Ministry has expressed annoyance over seven private travel operators of Bangladesh for causing problems to several hundred pilgrims on their arrivals in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the seven Hajj agencies had not provided 482 pilgrims with information related to their services and accommodation.
Responding to the Saudi complains, the secretary general of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh has denied all allegations. His denial is not acceptable since the charges are very clear. The Saudi Hajj agencies have issued and sent show cause notices to the seven agencies which they must explain within the next seven days.
Details of specific allegations have all been provided and the Hajj agencies must immediately provide information and accommodation facilities to the pilgrims. More to it, the agencies must be fined for their poor service and thus make-up for the financial losses incurred by the pilgrims abroad.
Massive corruption and money making ventures surrounding the Hajj season is not a new phenomenon in Bangladesh and the government’s authorities concerned seem to be failing to tackle age-old irregularities every year. As many Hajj agencies were yet to comply with the orders, Biman Bangladesh Airlines had to cancel two dedicated Hajj flights on Thursday – incurring huge loss. Poor management and corruption involving the national flag carrier and the hundreds of agencies is straightaway abhorrent and unacceptable. At the same time Biman officials should only allocate tickets to agencies as per the actual number of passengers, and there are many easy procedural checklists to ensure it.
One of the five pillars of the great religion Islam or the Hajj pilgrimage for that matter has lost much of its religious sanctity because of the numerous money making schemes and poor quality service provided by our local agencies.
Corruption is power in Bangladesh. Corruption agencies are alone in their corruption. The people will have to be vocal and help themselves. The religious ministry is part of the prices. It is possible that Anti-Corruption Commission will find a new opportunity to assert their power. But that is no help in fighting corruption. Others know but not the ACC, fight against corruption must begin at the top of the government. Only a clean government can stop corruption. In our country corruption is politically protected business and that no government affair is without corruption.
