COLOMBO : During the past 10 days , we have been receiving complaints of two incidents of stranded Sri Lankan Umrah passengers in Madinah.
The first group was from Badulla district comprising 42 pilgrims who were given dummy return tickets, while the second group composed of 27 pilgrims from the Eastern province has also faced the same music.
These pilgrims were victims of unscrupulous agents who claimed to be Umrah operators in the island.
The department of. Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs ,MRCA, have spelt out a list of 93 approved Hajj and Umrah operators to handle Sri Lankan pilgrims.
The rogue agents who do not have a registration with the MRCA allure the innocent pilgrims with comparatively low fares to attract them.
It is sad to note that the MRCA has turned a blind eye to these recent stranded problems of Umrah pilgrims, who have fallen prey to the hands of these sharks .
This is the responsibility of the MRCA to look after the interests of the intended Umrah or Hajj pilgrims and protect them from the mercenaries who try to dupe the innocent pilgrims .
Wake up MRCA and let us not hear anymore such incidents with your intervention please !!
