Devotees from 32 districts would be able to perform the Biswa Ijtema in the first two phases this year, to be held from January 8-10 and January 15-17, organisers say.
People from the other districts would attend the Ijtema next year. But the restriction is not applicable for the foreigners.
The organisers are working relentlessly to prepare the bank of the Turag River to hold the first phase of Ijtema, scheduled to begin on January 8. Many volunteers have also joined hands with the organisers to make the Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims after hajj, successful.
From this year, the Ijtema would be held in four phases. Until 2011, the people of 64 districts used to join the Ijtema at a time. Later the event was divided into two phases due to space constraints.
The authorities will deploy around 16,000 law enforcers to ensure full-proof security at the Ijtema site where some 30,00,000 to 40,00,000 devotees gather every year. Moreover, the government has taken up special measures to issue on-arrival visas for the foreign devotees.
Special attention would be given to the people coming from some countries including Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Yemen in the face of recent militant attacks.
Gias Uddin, one of the organisers of the Ijtema, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had divided 64 districts in four phase to manage space at the site. “For this reason, the devotees from a district will be able to attend Ijtema every two years.”
The organisers have already put lists of the 32 districts at the venue.
He added that people from the 32 other districts failing to attend the main Ijtema would be able to join Ijtema to be held in those districts throughout the year.
Visiting at Ijtema ground yesterday, the Dhaka Tribune reporter saw that pillars had already been set up on the ground and work on the main stage was at final stage. The organisers are now working to cover the 65-hectare land with jute and making separate tin-shed rooms for the foreign devotees.
This year, the organisers are setting up two and three-storey washrooms to serve the devotees properly.
In the meantime, the law enforcers have taken five-tire security measures to ensure safety of the devotees and to thwart any untoward incidents. Apart from the security personnel on the ground, there would be 14 watch towers and a number of CCTV cameras, Harun-or-Rashid, the superintendent of police in Gazipur, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Archways would be set up at every entrance while members of the police’s plainclothes unit would patrol the area around the clock, he added.
Harun also said that they would remove all the roadside shops and slums, and ensure that hygienic foods are sold and served on the Ijtema ground.
The government has also taken special measures for the bout foreign devotees. Immigration sources at Shahjalal Airport said nearly 18,000 foreign devotees are scheduled to enter the country to attend the Ijtema.
Beside this, medical teams are kept on alert at the airport so that no foreigner having any virus infection could join the Ijtema.
Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the home minister, said they had introduced special transportation and visa measures for the devotees. “Everyone has to enter the ground through an archway,” he said.
“A visa-related committee has been formed and a reception centre set up at the airport for the foreigners,” he said, adding that around 11,000 foreigners joined the event last year.
