Shawdesh Desk;

The three-day first phase of the 58th version of the Biswa Ijtema has ended through akheri munajat (final prayer) on the banks of the River Turag in Gazipur, with the participation of tens of thousands of devotees.

Bangladeshi Tabligh Jamaat leader Maulana Jubair conducted the final prayer that lasted for 24 minutes starting at about 9:10am on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of devotees from home and abroad, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, attended the prayer.

People were seen joining the prayer from rooftops of buildings, in vehicles as the gathering of the devotees spanned several kilometers surrounding the Ijteam ground.

Many attendees broke down seeking the blessing of Almighty Allah in the mundane and late after the death life, with a good number of women participating.

After the prayer, a huge rush was seen on the by-roads and train tracks as the devotees started heading towards their destinations in parts of the country.

The first phase started on Friday morning through delivering ordinary sermons by Pakistani Islamic scholar Maunla Ziaul Haque.

To ensure security of the devotees, thousands of law enforcers have been deployed in and around the Ijtema ground, along with in plainclothes.

Habibullah Raihan, media coordinator of the Tabligh Jamaat Bangladesh’s Shurayi Nezam, said a total five devotees died in the three days of the Ijtema.