Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus has ordered the launch of ‘Hajj Management Center’ to make the holy pilgrimage easy, beautiful and safe and to provide round-the-clock service to pilgrims.

He gave this instruction at a meeting of the National Committee on Hajj Management at the State Guest House Jamuna on Tuesday (February 25) at 5 pm.

The Chief Adviser said, ‘Allah Almighty has given us all an opportunity to make the holy pilgrimage easy; let us make the most of this opportunity. Efforts should be made so that not a single pilgrim suffers any kind of suffering.’

The number of licensed Hajj agencies in the country is 1,275. Out of these, 941 are agencies eligible for Hajj activities, 753 are agencies registering pilgrims and 70 are lead agencies.

The Chief Adviser ordered to clearly write down the responsibilities of these agencies and publish them in the form of a booklet and online.

The Chief Adviser said, ‘The government’s responsibility is to ensure that the agencies perform their duties properly, and take strict action if they do not perform their duties. The entire Hajj process should be simple and clear. What is the government’s responsibility, what is the agency’s responsibility – these should be clearly written.’

‘There should be clear guidelines on what to do if someone gets lost, falls ill, loses luggage or has any other problem, who to inform. This booklet should be given to each Hajj pilgrim. It should also mention what steps will be taken with greater importance in the case of women and children,’ he said.

He said, a Hajj Management Center should be established in the country so that services can be ensured through round-the-clock monitoring from Bangladesh.

‘The complaints received at the call center should be monitored immediately from here. A website should be made where all Hajj pilgrims will be connected. They can report their complaints; if someone gets lost, their location can be found through that website,' he said.

The chief adviser has ordered the call center to monitor the types of complaints coming in to decide on future action plans.

He said, 'The types of complaints coming in should be recorded. There should be information on how many of them have been resolved and how many have not. We should discuss and take appropriate steps so that these complaints do not come next year.'

At the same time, the chief adviser has ordered that if any agency fails to fulfill its responsibilities, its license should be cancelled.

'The agencies should be reviewed based on the experience of the pilgrims. It should be monitored whether the agencies have training or not. The agencies should be categorized into 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D' based on the training of the staff. The licenses of the agencies that fail to meet the standards of this category will be cancelled,' he said.

The chief adviser has instructed to create topic-based videos so that the pilgrims can be aware of what to do in any situation and so that no one gets confused.

He said, "It should be a problem-solving video. If the pilgrims are shown videos on what to do if they get sick, get lost, or have any problems while offering the sacrifice, they will gain morale. They will be able to be prepared."

In addition, the chief adviser has suggested introducing Hajj credit cards from next year and copying and listing the tags for luggage management.

He said, "If the Hajj credit cards are introduced, the suffering of the pilgrims will be reduced. After returning home, the money left on the card will be refunded in cash. Incidents of luggage loss often occur. That is why the tag can be copied after check-in. There will be a list of luggage tags at the management center."

This year, 5,200 people have registered for Hajj under government management and 81,900 people under private management. The government has decided not to send anyone to Hajj at government expense this year.

Religious Adviser Dr. AFM Khalid Hossain was present at the meeting.

The court has granted a 6-day remand against former MP from Jamalpur-5 constituency and former Principal Secretary Abul Kalam Azad in a sabotage case.

On Tuesday (February 25), at around 3 pm, the learned Senior Judicial Magistrate of Jamalpur Sadar Court, Judge Mustafizur Rahman of the 2nd Court, granted the remand.

The remand was granted in two sabotage cases, including an attack on students and the public during the anti-discrimination student movement on July 24 and July 25. Abul Kalam Azad was the Principal Secretary to ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Chief Coordinator for SDG Affairs and the Member of Parliament from Jamalpur-5 constituency.

Abul Kalam Azad was arrested on December 4 in a case filed as the mastermind behind the attack on a BNP rally on December 13, 2022 and the attack on the student movement on August 3 last year.

In this context, Advocate Anisuzzaman Gama, the state lawyer in the case, said that on August 3, Awami League terrorists opened fire on the orders of former MP Abul Kalam Azad during a student-public procession. When bail applications were filed in two cases filed in this incident, the court rejected them and granted remand to give the police the opportunity to interrogate them for the sake of investigation.

Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (Rtd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury made a surprise inspection of police patrol activities in the Dhaka metropolitan area to maintain public safety and law and order.

On Wednesday (February 26) morning, he inspected the check posts/checkpoints set up by the police and other law enforcement agencies at various important points and intersections in the capital and several police stations.

The adviser left his DOHS residence in Baridhara and visited New Market Police Station via Banani intersection, Bijoy Sarani (Novo theater), Manik Mia Avenue, Kalabagan, Eden College.

Later, from New Market Police Station, he visited Gulshan Police Station via Shahbag intersection, Matsya Bhaban, Moghbazar, Hatirjheel, Police Plaza. After the inspection, he returned to his Baridhara residence from Gulshan Police Station via United Hospital. On the way, he also visited some of the surrounding alleys.

During the inspection, the adviser spoke to the law enforcement officers on duty at the police station and check post and provided them with necessary directions. He also instructed the security forces to be on maximum alert to maintain law and order in the capital and across the country.

Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, adviser to the interim government's Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, said that although major crimes have decreased, minor crimes and incidents like mugging are occurring, he said that the government is addressing this. It is hoped that benefits will be achieved very soon. The incidents will decrease as much as possible.

He said these things after inspecting the special activities underway to strengthen public security in the Dhaka metropolitan area in front of the Novo theater on Bijoy Sarani in the capital on Tuesday (February 25) night.

Asif Mahmud said that in recent times, there has been a kind of apprehension among the people about law and order. After the July uprising, the law and order forces have not reached their previous position. This is a long-term process. The training process, starting from new recruitment, is underway to fix the law and order forces. I hope that we will get results.

He said, "We had a core committee meeting the day before yesterday regarding the recent situation. There, discussions were held with all the responsible people of Dhaka, including the police and army, and others. Several special decisions were made, including increasing patrols in the streets. I visited various areas in the last hour to inspect their implementation. There is a police presence at every intersection and there are patrol cars. Apart from this, members of other law enforcement agencies are also present."