Staff Report :Bangladesh Railway (BR) is going to introduce special train services for carrying Bishwa Ijtema devotees to Tongi from different parts of the country.”The railway authorities have decided to run 28 special trains in two phases starting from January 8-10 and from January 15-17, Railway Minister Md Mujibul Huq told reporters on Tuesday.The first phase of the Bishwa Ijtema would be held January 8-10 and the second January 15-17.”BR will operate the special train services to carry passengers from various places during the Ijtema period,” he said.The Minister further said, as part of the smooth transportation of the devotees we have suspended some train services while a few others will be operated regularly without any break. Besides, every intercity train has been asked to give a two-minute break.On the other hand, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) has also decided to run special bus services from January 6 to 19 for ferrying devotees.The state-owned transport agency will provide at least 228 BRTC buses for carrying the participants to the Ijtema yard from different places of the country and return them to the places they came from.According to the BRTC, 29 buses will ply from Motijheel to Abdullahpur, 13 buses from Shibbari to Motijheel, 17 buses from Tongi to Motijheel, six buses from Gazipur Chowrasta to Motijheel , five buses from Gabtali to Gazipur, 35 buses from Gabtali to Mohakhali, 25 buses from Gazipur to Motijheel and 20 buses from Motijheel to Baipail.Besides, 20 buses will run on Dhaka-Narayanganj route, 20 on Chittagong Road-Savar route and 15 on Dhaka-Comilla route.The BRTC will also operate three buses for foreign devotees from airport to Ijtema venue.The three-day Bishwa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims after the Hajj, is set to begin on the bank of the River Turag at Tongi, Gazipur on Friday.The three-day congregation includes delivering sermons, special prayers and recitation from the Quran and Hadith.The second phase of Ijtema will begin on January 15.Tablighi Jamaat has been organising the Bishwa Ijtema, also called the World Muslims’ Congregation, each year since 1967.
