Kamruzzaman Bablu :
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia has announced to refund Umrah fees and service charges of pilgrims and visitors, whose travel have been affected following the country’s temporary suspension of their entry over Coronavirus fears.
Following the Saudi Arabia’s announcement, the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) has been assured to cover-up huge losses and expressed its satisfaction.
“We are quite assured for Saudi Arab’s announcement to refund Umrah fees and others charges. But until the execution of Saudi Arab’s announcement, we want to see actually what will be happened”, M Shahadat Hossain Taslim, President of HAAB said The New Nation on Monday.
He added, “It is true that if the Saudi Arabia refunds our 10,000 pilgrim’s fees and others charges for Umrah Visa and air fare, then our agencies would get some relief from huge losses, because Hajj and travel agents are instantly facing huge financial losses for the Saudi decision.” According to him, Hajj Agencies have already incurred a loss of more than Tk 40 crore due to the sudden visa suspension. Agencies have collected visa for 10,000 Umrah pilgrims costing Tk 9.0 crore. They also collected air tickets which cost at Tk 20 crore and booked hotels in Saudi Arabia spending at Tk 10 crore.
Agencies are bound to pay back the pilgrims, but how can we get the invested amount back? He questioned.
In a statement, The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that there is an electronic mechanism to request the refund of visa fees and service charges through Umrah agents in their respective countries where from the pilgrims intended to set out for their pilgrimage.
The ministry urged all those, who have any claims of the refund for visa fees and service charges, to contact the local Umrah agents in their respective countries.
Before the Saudi Arabia’s announcement, local hajj and travel agencies on Sunday urged the government to engage talks with the Saudi authorities to ease the visa curb imposed by the Gulf nation on pilgrims.
Bangladesh Pilgrims & Hajj Welfare Council on Monday also demanded to return all cost deposited to the Saudi government in 15 days regarding the same issue.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia had temporarily suspended entry into the Kingdom for those coming for Umrah in Makkah and visiting the Prophet’s (PBUH) Mosque in Madinah. The country has also suspended the entry of tourist visa holders coming from countries where the new Coronavirus is spreading dangerously.
This announcement was followed by the temporary suspension of entry of citizens from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, reports the Saudi Gazette.
The Saudi authorities have clarified that passengers holding employment visa, work visit visa, business visit visa and family visit visa are exempted from the travel restrictions imposed by the Kingdom. All the above visa holders will be allowed to enter the Kingdom until further notice.
Saudi Arabia has so far been not affected by new Coronavirus (COVID-19) and is exerting all efforts to prevent the entry of the epidemic into the country with regular follow-ups and implementation of precautionary measures, the health authorities said on Saturday.
According to HAAB, about 2.5 lakh Bangladeshi pilgrims performed Umrah in the 10 months of 2019. There was a target to reach the Umrah pilgrims’ number to three lakh in this year.
