National

First Hajj flight from August 4

The first Hajj flight will leave for Saudi Arabia from Dhaka on Thursday.Some 1,01,758 Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims are expected to perform the Holy Hajj on September 10 this year as per the official data provided by the Religious Affairs Ministry.A total of 10,000 pilgrims are expected to perform the Hajj under the government management and the rest 91,758 under private management.The government has made all preparations to launch Hajj flights from Dhaka to Jeddah from August 4 and operate until September 5. The return flights would operate from September 17 and continue until October 15 to bring back pilgrims.Earlier, the cabinet on January 11 approved the Hajj Package 2016, setting the minimum cost for a pilgrim at Taka 304,903, up by Taka 8,697 from the previous year.