Around 900 people who wanted to perform Hajj had failed to submit their visa applications to the Saudi Arabian embassy in Dhaka, before yet another extension to the deadline -presumably the last this year- for doing so ran out yesterday, UNB reports quoting sources at the Ashkona Hajj Camp. Saiful Islam, Director of the Hajj Camp, said around 900 prospective pilgrims, who registered their interest in completing what is known as one of the '5 Pillars of Islam' earlier, will ultimately not be making it, and Bangladesh will fail to fill its quota for the year.

Although Saiful tried to play down the number, saying it is 'less than 1 percent' of the number of Bangladeshi pilgrims, even that will be unsatisfactory for a nation, and indeed the Muslim world in general, for an event that is hugely oversubscribed, forcing authorities to resort to quotas and lotteries in determining who makes it each year.

Saiful Islam said the Hajj pilgrims could have submitted their visa applications till 5pm on Monday. Among the 127, 198 Bangladeshis who were in line to attend this year, 126, 226 submitted their visa applications by Monday 5pm.

The Saudi embassy in Dhaka issued visas for almost all pilgrims who applied, Saiful Islam added.

He also said every year there are some would-be pilgrims who register early but fail to make it in the end, because of a variety of reasons such as death, illness, or failure to pay the full deposit money, even if they did the first instalment.

The Hajj Camp manager strangely seemed oblivious to the role of hajj agencies -travel agents specializing in hajj - who after all are responsible for taking care of the visa application process on behalf of their clients.

Although some slippage is natural, wasting 900 places of the quota is unheard of in recent memory. In accordance with its Muslim population, Bangladesh is usually home to the fourth-largest contingent of pilgrims every year, and each place in its quota is hugely coveted, not to mention oversubscribed.

The failure certainly merits an investigation by the Religious Affairs Ministry, coming just two years after it had tried to negotiate an increase in Bangladesh's quota.

Earlier in the day, BSS reported that a total of 90,409 people left Bangladesh for Saudi Arabia till the morning while around 36,000 pilgrims were waiting for leaving the country by August 27 to perform Hajj.

“Till 8 am this (Monday) morning, Biman carried 44,253 pilgrims and Saudia 46,156 pilgrims that totaled 90,409," Biman's General Manager (Public Relations) Shakil Meraj told the news agency.

In the next 24 hours (from 8am Monday to 8am Tuesday), Meraj said, Biman will operate nine flights including two from Chittagong, he added. Biman didn't cancel any hajj flight yesterday, he said.  The national flag carrier so far cancelled 24 dedicated hajj flights due to scarcity of available passengers due to visa complications.