The first phase of Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, will begin on the bank of the Turag River at Tongi, Gazipur on January 9.
The three-day first phase of Biswa Ijtema will begin on January 9 and the second phase will start on January 16.
Gazipur Police Super Harun-or-Rashid said additional security measures had been taken for Ijtema to ensure safety for devotees.
“All preparations regarding the congregation is going in full pace,” he said.
He said five-tier security would be enforced with deployment of around 15,000 members of law enforcers in and around the Ijtema ground.
Different government agencies will be working to ensure proper transportation, sanitation, fire safety measures, water supply, electricity supply and health services for the devotees, he said.
The law enforcement agencies, including the intelligence units, have been directed to keep an eye on Ijtema participants from a few specific countries, including Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, said the SP.
Earlier, the government asked all Bangladesh missions abroad not to issue visas to the people of five Ebola-virus affected countries – Sierra Leon, Mali, Nigeria, Liberia and Guinea.
“If any devotee from Ebola-affected countries want to participate in the congregation, he/she has to produce ‘Ebola-free health card’ at airport before entering into the country, said Nurul Islam, deputy commissioner of Gazipur.
Around 15-20 lakh devotees from home and abroad take part in the three-day congregation every year. Tablighi Jamaat has been organising the gathering since 1976.
Over 15,000 foreign devotees from different Muslim countries are likely to join the congregation at Tongi, some 20 km north of the capital.
Last year, around 20 lakh devotees, including 10,500 foreign devotees from 105 Muslim countries, had joined the gathering, said Ijtema organisers.
The first Ijtema was held at Kakrial Mosque in Dhaka in 1946. This was followed by a congregation at Chittagong Hajji camp in 1958, then at Siddirganj in Narayanganj. Si znce 1965, the Bishwa Ijtema has been held at Tongi.
