Staff Reporter :
The first phase of the three-day Biswa Ijtema ended on the bank of the Turag River in Tongi of Gazipur on Sunday with the Akheri Munajat seeking divine blessings and welfare of the Muslim Ummah.
Thousands of devotees, including foreigners, from different countries sought world peace, forgiveness and divine blessings for the mankind, especially for the Muslim Ummah.
Maulana Zubair Hassan, Bangladeshi leader of a faction of Tabligh Jamaat and also the Imam of Kakrail Mosque in Dhaka administered the Akheri Munajat.
The Akheri Munajat began at 11:06am that continued for about 40 minutes, our Gazipur correspondent reports from the spot.
People crowded adjacent roads and nearby areas of the Ijtema ground. Many people also joined the munajat from the roofs of vehicles and rooftops of nearby buildings.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has joined the Akheri Munajat of the Bishwa Ijtema from her official residence Gono Bhaban in Dhaka. She was accompanied by her younger sister Sheikh Rehana.
State Minister for Religious Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and officials and employees of the Prime Minister’s Office and Gono Bhaban also took part in the munajat. Earlier the final prayer, Mawlana Ziaul Haque and Mawlana Ibrahim Deola delivered sermon on the importance of Islam based on the Quran and Hadith.
Besides, centering the Akheri Munajat, the vehicle movements was remained suspended till 4:00pm on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway from Turag Bridge to Bhogra bypass, on Kaliganj road from Mirer Bazar to Station road and from Munnu Gate to Kamarpara Bridge.
The authorities introduced 30 shuttle buses from Bhogra Bypass to Gazipur bus stand on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway for those who attended the Akheri Munajat.
To ensure security of the event, law enforcement agencies had taken up a multi-layered security measures.
Members of police, RAB and intelligence agencies were deployed in the adjacent areas.
Over 400 closed-circuit television cameras, 25 watch towers and 11 checkpoints were set up to monitor the area, police said.
The second phase will be held from January 17 to 19, to be attended by the followers of Indian preacher Maulana Saad Kandhalvi.
Tabligh Jamaat, a coalition of Muslim devotees, has been organising the event on the bank of Turag River, near Tongi of Gazipur, every year since 1967.
