The first phase of Bishwa Ijtema ended on the bank of Turag River in Tongi yesterday with the Akheri Munajat, or final prayer, seeking world peace, stability and divine blessings for mankind.
The final prayer started at 11:07am and ended at 11:32am and was conducted by Indian cleric Maulana Saad Ahmed. Around three million Muslim devotees home and abroad took part in the final prayer, according to the organisers.
Devotees from the neighbouring districts of Dhaka started their journey to the Ijtema venue at the crack of dawn, right after the Fazr prayer. As vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway was suspended since Saturday midnight, they had to walk to the venue.
People living near the river joined the final prayer from the rooftops of their buildings as the place was packed by 8am.
Besides hundreds of thousands of local Muslims from 16 districts, around 11,000 foreign devotees from around 100 countries came to take part in the first phase of the second largest religious congregation of Muslims this year, the organisers said.
Before the Akheri Munajat, a special sermon was delivered by Bangladesh Tabligh Jamaat Sura member Maulana Wasiful Islam after Fazr prayer.
Prominent personalities of the country also joined in on the final prayer through live streaming of the event on several media, including the president, the prime minister and the BNP chief. The prayer was also transmitted through wireless sets and mobile phones for the convenience of devotees around the country.
This year, the participants were able to travel to the Ijtema venue for the final prayer and back without facing much traffic as a general leave was declared at all the offices and industries in Gazipur for the day.
However, traffic came almost to a standstill after the final prayer when the devotees started to return home.
“There was some traffic jam, but that is to be expected after such a big gathering breaks,” said Harun-or-Rashid, superintendent of police in Gazipur.
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) provided free shuttle bus service from the venue to different areas so that the devotees could go back home with minimal trouble, he added.
Four devotees, including a foreign national, died yesterday, raising the death toll of the Ijtema’s first phase to nine. Yesterday’s deceased were identified as Hafez Abu Bakar, 60, from Chittagong, Dalilur Rahman, 75, and Joynal Abedin, 60, from Sirajganj, and Purnam Sopan Sofa Hazi, 56, from Indonesia.
All the devotees died from old-age health issues, said Gias Uddin, one of the organisers.
Around 8,000 devotees fell ill and had to undergo treatment at 54 medical camps at the venue.
Meanwhile, a mobile court filed 41 cases against different local restaurants and food shops and charged them a total of Tk1.66 lakh in fine for selling unhygienic food.
The second phase of the Ijtema will be held on January 15-17 and will be attended from 16 districts, namely Jhenaidah, Jamalpur, Faridpur, Netrokona, Narsingdi, Comilla, Kurigram, Rajshahi, Feni, Thakurgaon, Sunamganj, Bogra, Khulna, Chuadanga and Pirojpur.
Devotees from 32 other districts will be able to join the congregation next year.
