Expenses of Hajj pilgrims under both the government and private management have been raised by Tk 59,000 more, said State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Huque Khan.

"Decision to increase the expenses of Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims has been taken in the wake of rising expenses in Saudia Arabia," he told journalists at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat on Thursday.

As a result, the minimum cost of Hajj travels under the government management has stood at Tk 5,21,150, while the maximum cost has stood at Tk 5,86,340. The minimum cost of lowest Hajj package under the private management has been fixed at Tk 5,22,744.

Apart from this cost, each hajj pilgrim will have to spend an additional Tk 19,683 for Qurbani.

The State Minister also said the Hajj pilgrims will have to pay if any additional charges are imposed by the Saudi government after the announcement of the packages

Faridul Huque Khan said the pilgrims will have to pay the money within May 30 in order to take part in Hajj this year. Advertisement will be published on May 28, 29 and 30 in order to receive the money. A letter has been sent to Bangladesh Bank to ask all the commercial banks to keep open on Saturday next.

Flights carrying Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj will begin on June 5.

This year, a total of 57,856 pilgrims will perform Hajj, a ritual must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, from Bangladesh.

In 2019, around 1.27 lakh Bangladeshis were allowed to perform hajj.

However, due to the global Covid pandemic, the largest annual Muslim congregation was held on a limited scale in the last two years.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia raised the number of Hajj pilgrims from inside and outside the kingdom to one million in 2022, authorities announced in a statement on April 9.

Hajj is open to those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and are under the age of 65, added the statement.

Pilgrims travelling from abroad will also need to have a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before their departure to Saudi Arabia.

The national flg carrier Biman will carry 31,000 hajj pilgrims through 75 dedicated flights this year. Boeing 777 aircrafts in Biman's fleet will be used to carry the hajj pilgrims.