Hajj agents heap charges on Hajj Committee

24 June 2018 07:02 pm

The Hajj Agencies Union of Sri Lanka today urged President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint a Commission to probe the alleged corruptions in the Hajj pilgrimage committee at the Department of Muslim Religious And Cultural Affairs, which comes under the purview of Ministry of Muslim Religious Affairs.

Addressing a press conference, All Ceylon Hajj Organisation Vice President Dr MSM Mohammad said despite the directives made by the Supreme Court on Hajj criteria and guidelines for Hajj pilgrimage, Minister A.H.M Haleem and his brother A.H.M. Fahim-who were also the Private Secretary to the Minister-were continuously violating it.

He said that the agencies had filed lawsuits on several occasions informing the arbitrary action of the authorities without much success.

Dr Mohamed said although a quota for 3,000 pilgrims received by Saudi Arabia annually, only 2,500 from the list was selected, while some 200 slots were reserved for staff and the remaining vacancies were distributed and sold among authority’s supporters.

He said that the around 20,000 pilgrims are currently in the Hajj Committee’s waiting list, however, the Hajj Committee overlook several individuals in the list and gave the opportunity to outsiders by obtaining bribes.

He further said that an additional quota for 600 was received last year and the Department of Muslim Religious And Cultural Affairs charged Rs 1,44,000 per head only to provide accommodation in Saudi Arabia.

Dr Mohamed charged the department had received a sum over of Rs 86 million from those 600 pilgrims, however, had not issued a receipt for the collected money.

He also said that it was learned that those pilgrims had to undergo severe inconveniences during their visit and the entire crew had stayed in two buildings which even without electricity.

He requested the information officer of the department to expose the balance sheet of the Hajj tour under the Right to Information Act.

Meanwhile, Dr Mohamed said although it was not permitted to collect a registration fee, the department collected a registration fee of Rs 2,000 while another Rs 4,000 was charged as a service charge.

“The approved service charge is Rs 2,000,” he said.

According to the Supreme Court verdict, Dr Mohamed said at least a four-month period should be given to Hajj pilgrims to choose their agency, however, the Hajj Committee gave only two weeks.

The Daily Mirror’s attempts to contact the Subject Minister over the allegations, however, was not successful. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)