, Sept. 24 -- Religious Affairs Adviser Dr A F M Khalid Hossain on Wednesday said the government is keen to protect the best interests of the pilgrims and is working to fix airfare rationally.

"Last year, airfares were reduced by nearly Tk 27,000 and efforts are underway to ensure a rational airfare this year too," he said while addressing a workshop at the Dhaka Hajj Office in Ashkona in the morning.

It is not possible for the government to reduce as costs of Hajj despite strong demand from people, said the adviser.

"We cannot reduce the costs set by the government of Saudi Arabia. We can only negotiate a bit on the airfare and accommodation costs," he said.

Noting that the government has no commercial interest in Hajj management, Ad...