Thousands of Muslim devotees offered Jum’a prayers on the bank of the Turag River as the second phase of Biswa Ijtema began there yesterday. The Ijtema began with “Aaam Bayan’ (general sermons) after Fazr prayers with religious sermons delivered by Islamic scholars from India and Pakistan. Meanwhile, chaos broke out for a brief period at the venue yesterday following a fault in the distribution line, which resulted in electricity being cut off for two hours from 7:30am to 9:30am. Despite the glitch, a five-tier security arrangement was in place at the venue to ensure smooth proceedings. Director General of RAB Benazir Ahmed visited the venue yesterday morning and inspected the security measures. Beside security measures, RAB is also providing free medical services to the devotees, he said. Meanwhile, a devotee, Abdur Rahman, 60, of Bogra, died of old age complications at the venue early yesterday, hours before the 2nd phase began.