First phase of Ijtema ends with Akheri Munajat tomorrow

The "Akheri Munajat" of the three-day of Biswa Ijtema on the banks of the river Turag at Tongi will be offered tomorrow.

Tens of thousands of Muslims from about 100 countries and 16 districts are participating in the first phase amid intensified security measures.

Organizers said as many as four million people from all walks of life are expected to join the Akheri Munajat before the Zohr prayers tomorrow.

Deputy speaker, cabinet members, lawmakers, professionals, political leaders and senior officials are expected to join the concluding prayer.

Loudspeakers have been set up at all directions beyond the Ijtema ground to facilitate people to listen to the munajat.

Police super of Gazipur Harun-Or-Rashid told BSS that 7,804 foreign nationals of about 91 countries while thousands others of 16 districts across the country joined the Ijtema ground since Thursday last to seek divine blessings of the Almighty Allah.

The devotees of foreign countries including India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Oman, Yemen, Sudan, Palestine, Tunisia, Bahrain, France, Kuwait, Somalia, Kenya, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, Iraq and Iran are taking part in the Akheri Munajat.

Besides, the musullies of 16 districts -Gazipur, Dhaka, Tangail, Mymensingh, Brahmanbaria, Manikganj, Rangpur, Chapainawabganj, Rangamati, Bandarban, Gopalganj, Shariatpur, Jessore, Khagrachhari, Joypurhat, Moulvibazar and Satkhira attended the Ijtema.

"Two more Ijtema devotees identified as Korshed Alam, 65, and Tara Miah, 70, died on the first day of the Ijtema raising the death toll to nine," physician of Tongi General Hospital Mokhlesur Rahman told BSS this afternoon.

He said they died of cold, old-aged complications, illness and cardiac arrests.

Meanwhile, a five-tier security measures has been taken for the event along with deployment of several thousand members of different law-enforcement agencies, including RAB and police.

RAB members are patrolling the ground and the adjacent areas with helicopters to monitor security measures.

Talking to BSS, Gazipur Additional District Magistrate Mohammad Rahenul Islam said apart from other security vigilances, 10 mobile courts are working round-the-clock to ensure the supply of hygienic food.

Several health centres were also set up at different parts of the Ijtema venue with beds and almost all first aid and other treatment facilities. Doctors are performing round-the-clock duty at each centre.

Special measures have also been taken to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply during the three-day Ijtema.

Earlier, the Ijtema formally began with "ambayan" (general sermon) after Fazr prayers at dawn on Friday.

Noted ulema-mashaekhs in their sermons called for following the guidance of the holy Quran and Sunnah. The sermons were translated into different languages of the world.

The second phase of the Ijtema is scheduled to begin on January 20 at the same venue and it will end on January 22.

Tablig Jamaat has been organizing the Biswa Ijtema on the bank of Turag river since 1967. Now Ijtema is being held in two phases since 2011 to ease the accommodation problem, an organizer said.

Source: BSS