Staff Reporter :
Family members of missing Bangladeshi hajjis have been demanding accurate information about the casualties in the tragic incident of stampede in Mina, four kilometers away from Mecca of Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, which killed about 769 people.
They are passing their days in utmost anxiety for not getting exact scenario though three days have already been elapsed after the catastrophic incident. Even, the hajjis who are now staying in Saudi Arabia alleged that they are not getting sufficient information from the Hajj Office.
It is still not clear how many Bangladeshi hajjis have been injured in the incident. About 934 were injured in the stampede.
Questions have been raised about the performance of 350 officials and employees those are now staying in Saudi Arabia to look after the hajjis.
Of them, Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs
Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan and Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Masih are now in loggerheads over the issue trading blame on each other.
“The embassy officials are trying to determine the whereabouts of the missing pilgrims. Saudi authorities will eventually publish a full list of the deceased,” Bangladesh’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Golam Masih, said.
On the other hand, Religious Secretary Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan did not give any statement about the issue till the date, though he claimed that he was trying hard to get the accurate picture of the dead and injured hajjis.
Officials said about 1, 06,000 pilgrims went to Saudi Arabia from Bangladesh this year to perform hajj. The Bangladesh government sent a team of 350 officials, including physicians and nurses, to look after the hajjis. All of them went there under the leadership of Religious Secretary Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan with government expenditures.
Now allegations have been raised that they are not performing their duties as desired level and for that reason the actual figure of dead and injured of Bangladeshi hajjis is yet not got.
In the meanwhile, three Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims have been identified from the 650 photographs released by Saudi on Sunday.
The Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MoFA] issued a press release on Sunday. Among the 650 photos, M Shahidul Islam from Khulna and Aminur Rahman from Savar have been identified as Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims.
Consul General of Jeddah Consulate AKM Shahidul Karim confirmed the death of two Bangladeshi hajis. “Saudi government has disclosed the photos of 650 victims of Mina stampede. Of them, two Bangladeshis have so far been identified,” he said.
Elaborating Bangladesh government’s initiatives, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said: “The government is now inquiring about the death of hajjis. The government is also taking information about the injured.”
According to information available, 12 Bangladeshis so far have been killed in the stampede. Of them, the confirmations of 10 dead have come through the family members. The rest two were identified by MoFA as M Shahidul Islam from Khulna and Aminur Rahman.
Meanwhile, the Hajj officials have said 98 pilgrims from the country have been missing since the incident.
Hajj Officer of the Bangladesh Embassy in Jeddah Md Asaduzzaman said that the identification of the victims started on Saturday, two days after the incident. “Al Noor Hospital has published a list of 82 victims with photos. But no Bangladeshi was found in it,” he said.
He said the embassy received complaints over disappearance of 128 after the incident. “We’ve traced 30 of them. They are well now. But 98 are still missing,” Asaduzzaman said. “We are trying to locate them,” he said, added: “The central morgue has also published a list of deceased. We are trying to find if someone from Bangladesh is in the list. The camp at Mina was closed on Saturday. Now we have returned to Mecca.”
First secretary of Hajj affairs at the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia, Jahirul Islam said that they made a list of 92 Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims who are still missing.
He said they prepared the list after their medical team leader and a joint secretary of Bangladesh’s Religious Affairs Ministry visited several hospitals in Saudi Arabia.
Family members of missing Bangladeshi hajjis have been demanding accurate information about the casualties in the tragic incident of stampede in Mina, four kilometers away from Mecca of Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, which killed about 769 people.
They are passing their days in utmost anxiety for not getting exact scenario though three days have already been elapsed after the catastrophic incident. Even, the hajjis who are now staying in Saudi Arabia alleged that they are not getting sufficient information from the Hajj Office.
It is still not clear how many Bangladeshi hajjis have been injured in the incident. About 934 were injured in the stampede.
Questions have been raised about the performance of 350 officials and employees those are now staying in Saudi Arabia to look after the hajjis.
Of them, Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs
Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan and Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Masih are now in loggerheads over the issue trading blame on each other.
“The embassy officials are trying to determine the whereabouts of the missing pilgrims. Saudi authorities will eventually publish a full list of the deceased,” Bangladesh’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Golam Masih, said.
On the other hand, Religious Secretary Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan did not give any statement about the issue till the date, though he claimed that he was trying hard to get the accurate picture of the dead and injured hajjis.
Officials said about 1, 06,000 pilgrims went to Saudi Arabia from Bangladesh this year to perform hajj. The Bangladesh government sent a team of 350 officials, including physicians and nurses, to look after the hajjis. All of them went there under the leadership of Religious Secretary Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan with government expenditures.
Now allegations have been raised that they are not performing their duties as desired level and for that reason the actual figure of dead and injured of Bangladeshi hajjis is yet not got.
In the meanwhile, three Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims have been identified from the 650 photographs released by Saudi on Sunday.
The Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MoFA] issued a press release on Sunday. Among the 650 photos, M Shahidul Islam from Khulna and Aminur Rahman from Savar have been identified as Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims.
Consul General of Jeddah Consulate AKM Shahidul Karim confirmed the death of two Bangladeshi hajis. “Saudi government has disclosed the photos of 650 victims of Mina stampede. Of them, two Bangladeshis have so far been identified,” he said.
Elaborating Bangladesh government’s initiatives, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said: “The government is now inquiring about the death of hajjis. The government is also taking information about the injured.”
According to information available, 12 Bangladeshis so far have been killed in the stampede. Of them, the confirmations of 10 dead have come through the family members. The rest two were identified by MoFA as M Shahidul Islam from Khulna and Aminur Rahman.
Meanwhile, the Hajj officials have said 98 pilgrims from the country have been missing since the incident.
Hajj Officer of the Bangladesh Embassy in Jeddah Md Asaduzzaman said that the identification of the victims started on Saturday, two days after the incident. “Al Noor Hospital has published a list of 82 victims with photos. But no Bangladeshi was found in it,” he said.
He said the embassy received complaints over disappearance of 128 after the incident. “We’ve traced 30 of them. They are well now. But 98 are still missing,” Asaduzzaman said. “We are trying to locate them,” he said, added: “The central morgue has also published a list of deceased. We are trying to find if someone from Bangladesh is in the list. The camp at Mina was closed on Saturday. Now we have returned to Mecca.”
First secretary of Hajj affairs at the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia, Jahirul Islam said that they made a list of 92 Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims who are still missing.
He said they prepared the list after their medical team leader and a joint secretary of Bangladesh’s Religious Affairs Ministry visited several hospitals in Saudi Arabia.
