Biswa Ijtema, conducted in two phases with participation of tens of thousands of people from home and abroad, concluded yesterday through ‘Akheri Munajat’( final prayer) on the bank of the river Turag at Tongi, the outskirt of capital Dhaka.
Senior religious scholar of Tablig Jammat Maulana Mohammad Jobairul Hassan of India led the Munajat for nearly half an hour in the morning seeking forgiveness of the Almighty Allah and divine blessings for Muslim Ummah. The bank of Turag river turned into a sea of people, who spilled over to adjoining areas and road to join the Minajat. Besides, there were thousands who were perched on rooftop of buildings, vehicles and boats. They kept on listening to the religious leader with rapt attention.
However, thousands missed the occasion because of change in the timing of the Munajat that was completed at 10:12 am yesterday instead of 11-12 am previously. The changed schedule was announced earlier on Saturday. But the people who did not know the change were still pouring into the venue to join the Minajat.
After the Akheri munajat, people started leaving the venue for home by all modes of transports and thronged the bus and railway stations and river terminals. Bangladesh Railway arranged special trains yesterday from Tongi railway station to the different parts of the country. Besides, all inter-city trains stopped at Tongi station. On the other hand, home-bound devotees faced problems for the shortage of vehicles. They were seen waiting at roadside for long hours to avail of any mode of transports.
The first phase of three-day Biswa Ijtema was held from January 24 to January 26, and after a break of four days the second phase started on January 31. In the second phase, devotees from 33 districts of the country joined the Ijtema likewise the first phase.
However, engineer Mohammed Gias Uddin, one of the organisers of Bishw Ijtema said that the date for the next Ijtema has been set for January 9-11, 2015, and the three-day second phase will begin on January 16 and conclude on January 18 with Akheri Munajat.
Courtesy of The Independent
