The cabinet on Monday approved the draft Hajj Package, 2018, fixing the minimum cost for a pilgrim at Tk 3,97,929, up by Tk 16,421 from the previous year under the  government management.

In a press briefing after the meeting, cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said a total of 1,27,198 pilgrims from Bangladesh will be able to perform hajj this year, reports the UNB.

Of them, 7,198 will perform hajj under the government management and 1,20,000 under private management, he said.

The airfare for each pilgrim from Bangladesh has been fixed at Tk 1,38,198, which was Tk 1,24,723 in the previous year, he added.

Chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the cabinet also endorsed the draft of the National Hajj and Umrah Policy, 2018, placed by the Religious Affairs Ministry.