People suffer as Tabligh men protest top leaders arrival
First Phase of biswa ijtema begins at Tongi tomorrow
Staff Reporter
Hundreds of Biswa Ijtema devotees blocked the road in front of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka yesterday, bringing traffic to a grinding halt for several hours. The devotees were protesting against the arrival of a controversial Indian Muslim scholar for attending the congregation.
The Biswa Ijtema, the second largest Muslim congregation in the world, had never seen such a chaotic start in its history. The first phase of the 53rd Biswa Ijtema is set to start on the banks of Turag River at Tongi on the outskirts of Dhaka after Fazr prayers tomorrow and end with Akheri Munajat on January 14. The second phase will be held from January 19-21.
The Biswa Tabligh Jamaat, which organises the annual event, was recently split following some controversial comments by its leader Maulana Saad Kandolvi. The faction opposing Saads leadership staged the protest yesterday when he reached the airport the Dhaka airport by a Thai Airways flight around 1 pm.
The protest forced the religious leader to stay inside the airport for around three hours. Police later escorted Saad to Kakrail mosque through the cantonment area, OC of Airport police station Nure Azam Mia said.
The protesters dispersed after hearing the news that Saad had been taken to Kakrail mosque, the OC said.
However, thousands of commuters suffered a lot due to the gridlocks on both sides of the airport roundabout, the scene of the protest.
According to sources, a meeting will be held at the Kakrail mosque between government representatives and Biswa Ijtema organizers about the fate of Saads leadership of the congregation.
On January 6, some Tabligh Jamaat leaders had met home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and requested him to not allow Saad to attend the Biswa Ijtema. But the minister told them to solve the matter by themselves.
Later, Saad had obtained a special diplomatic visa from the Bangladesh High Commission in India.
In another development, OC of Tongi police station Firoz Talukder said all preparations to hold the Biswa Ijtema peacefully had been completed.
The law enforcement agencies will deploy around 20,000 personnel as part of a four-ring security cordon around the Ijtema venue. Besides, RAB helicopters, 100 CCTV cameras and 15 watch towers will add to the security detail, the OC said.
About 30-40 lakh pilgrims from home and abroad are expected to participate in the Ijtema.
The first phase will be attended by devotees from 32 districtsDhaka, Sherpur, Narayanganj, Nilphamari, Sirajganj, Natore, Gaibandha, Lakhipur, Sylhet, Chittagong, Narail, Madaripur, Bhola, Magura, Patuakhali, Jhalokati, Panchagarh, Jhenaidah, Jamalpur, Faridpur, Netrokona, Narshingdi, Comilla, Kurigram, Rajshahi, Feni, Thakurgaon, Sunamganj, Bogra, Khulna, Chuadanga and Pirojpur.
Pilgrims from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Thailand, Qatar, Australia and New Zealand have also arrived to attend the congregation.
Meanwhile, Met sources said the pilgrims were likely to suffer from cold weather as the temperature would fall to 9-10C during the Ijtema period.
