Whether it’s Hajj or Ramzan, people are reeling under profiteering

You may call Bangladesh a strange country, but the epithet is not enough to describe it. The government as well as businesses here does not see the sufferings that their decisions can cause to people by their actions when they perform Islamic rituals. It is a life-long dream of every pious Muslim to make a visit to Mecca to perform Hajj, one of the five fundamental pillars of Islam. Many lower and middle class people save part of their income for years for that purpose. This they do to earn the satisfaction of Allah; anything personal that is involved here is spiritual, and not material. But even this Hajj for Bangladesh people is becoming increasingly difficult as every year the cost is rising.

No, the businesses do not fix the cost, the government does. To the surprise of all, the government has finalised Tk 6,83,018 (about $6,400) for the hajj package this year under government management, which is around Tk 96,000-Tk1,00,000 more than 2022. Airfares have been raised from Tk 1,40,000 last year to Tk1,98,000.
But as far as the cost of Hajj is concerned, in countries like India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, the cost remains almost the same and it is much less. Last year’s data say that Bangladeshis paid a minimum of $5,000 for the Hajj package in 2022. But it was $3,620 in Pakistan and $2,760 in Indonesia. In India, a Hajj pilgrim paid between Rs 3-3.5 lakh ($3,600-4,200).

Unlike in Bangladesh, the cost of Hajj packages in these countries is determined through open tenders. It has been alleged that this religious occasion is seen as a business opportunity and the blame squarely falls upon Biman and private sector stakeholders who cash in on the Hajj pilgrims.

The government has been pouring in cash on Biman to make it a commercially viable entity, but due to irregularities and corruption, it remains a hugely losing concern and the wretched government authorities find this religious occasion to make up for the loss. It is really very absurd.

However, when the government itself does not bother about people’s difficulty,

it is fanciful to think that during the holy month of Ramzan, businesses will take in consideration the plights of consumers as they increase prices of every consumable item. This year the month of fasting is still more than a month away, but prices of most items in the kitchen market have taken over by a storm. Take for example the price of broiler chicken. It has seen Tk 60/70 rise per kg in the retail market and is being sold at Tk 220. The price of beef, egg, chickpeas, beans and vegetables have also seen a spurt.

When businessmen here are politicians who have little or no moral standing, it is futile to expect that they take pain to ease the plights of people in performing the religious rites.