ShawdeshDesk: Biswa Ijtema, the second largest Muslim congregation after the holy Hajj, began after Fajr prayers on Friday with Aam Bayan on the bank of the Turag River at Tongi in Gazipur.

The first phase of the Islamic religious rite will be held for the next three days. The second phase will begin on January 17 for three days, organisers said.

Thousands of Muslim devotees from home and abroad are moving to participate in the 55th Biswa Ijtema.
Devotees boarding buses, trucks and even trains were seen moving towards the Ijtema venue from different places early Thursday.

After the end of the first-phase Ijtema, an Akheri Munajat will be held, seeking peace and prosperity of the Muslim Ummah.

Organisers said necessary preparations to hold Biswa Ijtema this year has already been completed. The Biswa Tablig Jamaat organises the Muslim gatherings every year.

“Hundreds of volunteers, including teachers, students, professionals and common people, were voluntarily participating in the Ijtema preparation work,” said an organizer, M Mamunur Rashid.

The volunteers are working for building tents with cloth and bamboo pillars, construction of katcha toilets, installation of utility services and road construction at the Ijtema ground, he said.

Keeping the Ijtema gathering in view, special security measures have been taken for the devotees, police said. A large number of police and RAB personnel were deployed in and around the Ijtema venue, police sources said.
Members of law enforcement agencies were also seen installing closed circuit cameras (CCTV) for additional security.

Earlier, Home Minister Asaduzzaman told the media that the government has planned stringent security measures ahead of the Biswa Ijtema. “We have taken all-out security measures for devotees, including foreigners, at the Ijtema,” he said.

He also said various law enforcement agencies, including police, RAB, BGB and Ansar, will be deployed at the Ijtema ground and its entry point areas. “To ensure a peaceful and congenial atmosphere at the Ijtema ground, the government has taken all-out security measures.”

Although the Ijtema used to be divided into two phases—each lasting for three days with a break in the middle—due to recent clashes between two factions of Tabligh Jamaat, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has also decided that this year’s Bishwa Ijtema will also be held over three days in a single phase.

Divisional officials have already visited the Ijtema ground and instructed the Ijtema committee for completing preparations on time.

According to the schedule, the first phase of the 55th Biswa Ijtema will be held for three days from January 10, while its second phase from January 17.

Meanwhile, about 15-Km tailback has been created on Dhaka-Gazipur highway as devotees are mainly using this busy route to reach the Ijtema ground.

Although the Biswa Ijtema is set to begin after Fazr prayers today, thousands of devotees are flocking into the Ijtema ground before one day which created a 15-km tailback on Dhaka-Gazipur highway on Thursday morning.

A huge traffic congestion on the highway from Abdullahpur to Gazipur Chowrasta was created due to the pressure of Dhaka-bound vehicles of Biswa Ijtema devotees, a police officer said.

Earlier, the preparation works of the Ijtema formally began on November 4 while State Minister for Youth and Sports M Zahid Ahsan Russel inaugurated it.

The government has extended all cooperation for holding the religious event peacefully, said the state minister, adding that the Awami League government has set up a total of 13 deep tube-wells in and around the Ijtema ground.

Noted Indian Islamic scholar Mawlana Illyus Akhter Kandhalovi launched the Biswa Ijtema in 1920. It has been taking place on the Turag riverbank since 1967.