A parliamentary committee yesterday expressed grave concern over shortage of aircraft to carry intended hajj pilgrims this year.
The parliamentary standing committee on the civil aviation and tourism ministry asked the Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited to collect one or two wide-bodied aircraft immediately to carry all intended hajj pilgrims.
The house watchdog at its meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban warned the civil aviation minister GM Quader that if the national flag carrier is failed to collect aircraft due to the his direction “not to operate aircraft of 20 years of age,” the minister will be responsible
for the sufferings of the devotees.
The committee will inform about the matter to the prime minister very soon to inquire her direction to this end, Engineer Mosharrof Hossain, chief of the committee, told reporters after a four-hour long meeting.
“In the previous year Biman carried around 54,000 hajjis fairly. But this year the numbers of intended hajj pilgrims have increased to around 94,000. With only two Boeing and a DC10-30 aircraft, it would be very difficult for Biman this year to carry hajj pilgrims fairly,” said Mayeen Uddin Khan Badal, a member of the parliamentary body.
If any untoward situation happens in carrying hajjis, image of the prime minister and grand alliance will be decay. But nothing will happen to the respective minister,” said Badal, also a Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal lawmaker.
