Thousands join Biswa Ijtema

The first phase of Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, began yesterday on the bank of the Turag river at Tongi, on the outskirts of the capital. Thousands of devotees from all over the country and abroad reached the Ijtema ground despite the countrywide hartal called by the Jamaat-e-Islami on Thursday. Like previous years, the Ijtema, also called the World Muslims’ Congregation, will be held in two phases as devotees cannot be accommodated at the venue in one phase. This year devotees from 17 districts will attend the first phase, while devotees from 15 districts will join the second phase.
The first phase of the Ijtema will end with the Akheri Munajat on January 10. The second phase will be held on January 15 and will be over on January 17 with the Akheri Munajat. Although  the hartal didn’t affect the journey of the devotees much in Gazipur, they faced various  problems on their way to the Ijtema ground from different parts of the country as the number of vehicles was inadequate. Many devotees expressed unhappiness over the hartal. Although the Ijtema started after Friday’s Fazre prayers, top scholars of the Ijtema began delivering their sermons from Fazre prayers on Thursday. They discussed different topics including, “Iman”, “Akhlakh” and “Amol”. The Ijtema authorities completed all preparations to hold the event. Volunteers of the Biswa Tablig Jamaat, students from schools, colleges and madrasas and people from all walks of life joined hands to prepare the ground. A huge pandal was erected to accommodate the devotees. Md Gias Uddin, one of the “Murubbis” (decision-maker), told The Independent: “Everything is ready for the Ijtema.” He added: “We have arranged modern facilities, including,
gas and power supply, ambulance service and telephone connection on the north-western side of the venue for foreign devotees.”
He also said the number of foreign devotees might increase this year. More than 50,000 foreign devotees from 150 countries are expected to arrive for the Ijtema.
To maintain law and order, adequate steps have been taken. Separate control rooms have been set up by the district administration, police and RAB.
Harun-ur-Rashid, superintendent of police of Gazipur, said:  “CCTV cameras will be installed at different points of the venue and about 12,000 law enforcers will be deployed during the Ijtema.” Besides, a number of plainclothes policemen will also be on duty, he added.
The Gazipur district administration will conduct a mobile court to ensure law and order at the Ijtema venue and monitor nearby hotels and restaurants. The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will provide 228 special buses that will run till January 19. Three of them will be reserved for foreign devotees. As many as 54 free medical camps have been set up in the area. Tongi Hospital will provide services to devotees in need. The state minister for religion, principal Motiur Rahman, visited the Ijtema ground on Thursday. He also inaugurated the Hamdard free medical camp at the Monno Textile factory gate in the northern corner of the Ijtema ground. The fire department is also ready to prevent fire at the site. A total of 200 firefighters are on duty at the venue. Aktaruzzaman, deputy assistant director of Gazipur Fire Service, said three water carriers, one standby light unit and three ambulances would be kept ready at the venue.

Thousands join Biswa Ijtema

The first phase of Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, began yesterday on the bank of the Turag river at Tongi, on the outskirts of the capital. Thousands of devotees from all over the country and abroad reached the Ijtema ground despite the countrywide hartal called by the Jamaat-e-Islami on Thursday. Like previous years, the Ijtema, also called the World Muslims Congregation, will be held in two phases as devotees cannot be accommodated at the venue in one phase. This year devotees from 17 districts will attend the first phase, while devotees from 15 districts will join the second phase. The first phase of the Ijtema will end with the Akheri Munajat on January 10. The second phase will be held on January 15 and will be over on January 17 with the Akheri Munajat. Although the hartal didnt affect the journey of the devotees much in Gazipur, they faced various problems on their way to the Ijtema ground from different parts of the country as the number of vehicles was inadequate. Many devotees expressed unhappiness over the hartal. Although the Ijtema started after Fridays Fazre prayers, top scholars of the Ijtema began delivering their sermons from Fazre prayers on Thursday. They discussed different topics including, Iman, Akhlakh and Amol. The Ijtema authorities completed all preparations to hold the event. Volunteers of the Biswa Tablig Jamaat, students from schools, colleges and madrasas and people from all walks of life joined hands to prepare the ground. A huge pandal was erected to accommodate the devotees. Md Gias Uddin, one of the Murubbis (decision-maker), told The Independent: Everything is ready for the Ijtema. He added: We have arranged modern facilities, including, gas and power supply, ambulance service and telephone connection on the north-western side of the venue for foreign devotees. He also said the number of foreign devotees might increase this year. More than 50,000 foreign devotees from 150 countries are expected to arrive for the Ijtema. To maintain law and order, adequate steps have been taken. Separate control rooms have been set up by the district administration, police and RAB. Harun-ur-Rashid, superintendent of police of Gazipur, said: CCTV cameras will be installed at different points of the venue and about 12,000 law enforcers will be deployed during the Ijtema. Besides, a number of plainclothes policemen will also be on duty, he added. The Gazipur district administration will conduct a mobile court to ensure law and order at the Ijtema venue and monitor nearby hotels and restaurants. The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will provide 228 special buses that will run till January 19. Three of them will be reserved for foreign devotees. As many as 54 free medical camps have been set up in the area. Tongi Hospital will provide services to devotees in need. The state minister for religion, principal Motiur Rahman, visited the Ijtema ground on Thursday. He also inaugurated the Hamdard free medical camp at the Monno Textile factory gate in the northern corner of the Ijtema ground. The fire department is also ready to prevent fire at the site. A total of 200 firefighters are on duty at the venue. Aktaruzzaman, deputy assistant director of Gazipur Fire Service, said three water carriers, one standby light unit and three ambulances would be kept ready at the venue.