The second phase of the three-day Biswa Ijtema, billed as the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, began on the banks of the River Turag in Tongi Friday. This phase of the 56th edition of the Biswa Ijtema (World Congregation) started with the "a'm bayan" (general sermons) after Fajr prayers with the participation of a large number of devotees, including the followers of Indian preacher Maulana Muhammad Saad Al Kandhalvi. Read more: 2nd phase Bishwa Ijtema: Metro rail to operate from 8am-5pm on Jan 22 However, Maulana Saad is not attending this year's Ijtema. The sermons were delivered by Pakistani Islamic scholar Maulana Mohammad Osman and were translated into Bangla by Maulana Zia bin Qasim. Thousands of devotees from home and abroad thronged the banks of the Turag River to listen to scholars reciting and explaining verses from the Quran and to renew their commitment to Islamic values. In the afternoon, they offered Jumma prayers, led by Maulana Saad's son Yusuf bin Saad Kandhalvi, at the Ijtema ground. "Additional police personnel have been deployed in and around the Ijtema venue to ensure the security of the devotees. The venue has been brought under closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera surveillance," Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Commissioner Molla Nazrul Islam said. Health camps were set up for the devotees to provide them with treatment like the previous years. Read more: First phase of Bishwa Ijtema ends today with ‘Akheri Munajat’ However, a 75-year-old devotee from Barguna, Mofizul Islam, died at the Ijtema venue early Friday due to complications of old age. The three-day Biswa Ijtema will end on January 22 with Akheri Munajat (final prayers). Meanwhile, the metro rail service will run from 8am to 5pm on January 22 for the smooth movement of the devotees attending the second phase of the congregation. The first phase of the three-day Biswa Ijtema ended on January 15 with Akheri Munajat. Tabligh Jamaat has been organising the congregation in Tongi since 1967. In 2011, it divided Ijtema into two phases to accommodate a large number of attendees.

The second phase of three-day Biswa Ijtema, billed as the second largest congregation of Muslims after hajj, begins on the banks of the Turag River at Tongi on Friday. This phase of 56th edition of the Biswa Ijtema will begin through "a'm bayan" (general sermons) after Fazr prayers with the participation of a large number of devotees including the followers of Indian Islamic preacher Maulana Muhammad Saad Al Kandhalvi. Read more: 2nd phase Bishwa Ijtema: Metro rail to operate from 8am-5pm on Jan 22 Several thousand devotees are expected to offer Jum'a prayers, led by Maulana Saad’s son Yusuf bin Kandalvi, on the first day of the second phase Ijtema. Thousands of devotees from home and abroad have started thronging the banks of the Turag River to take part in the religious event to seek divine blessings of the Almighty Allah. State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan inaugurated the Free Medical Camp of Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh this noon (Thursday) to provide health services for the devotees. Additional police will be deployed in and around the Ijtema venue to ensure security of the devotees. The venue has been brought under CCTV surveillance, said Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Commissioner Molla Nazrul Islam. The three-day Biswa Ijtema will end on January 22 with Akheri Munajat (final prayers). Read more: First phase of Bishwa Ijtema ends today with ‘Akheri Munajat’ Meanwhile, metro rail in Dhaka will be operated from 8am to 5pm on January 22 for the smooth movement of the devotees attending the second phase of Bishwa Ijtema. The metro rail authority will extend their service hour to facilitate the devotees on the Akheri Munajat day, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) (Public Relations) Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan told UNB on Thursday. The first phase of three-day Biswa Ijtema ended on January 15 with the Akheri Munajat. Tabligh Jamaat has been organising the congregation at the venue since 1967. In 2011, it divided Ijtema into two phases to accommodate a large number of attendees.

Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) has issued some directives regarding traffic movement to reduce suffering of Biswa Ijtema devotees. Movements of vehicles on some roads in Gazipur will remain suspended for around six hours due to the ongoing Biswa Ijtema. GMP Commissioner Mollah Nazrul Islam disclosed this in a  press briefing at police control room set up at the Ijtema venue saying that the traffic movement has been rearranged as devotees from remote areas of the country will join the Akheri Munajat (final prayers) on Sunday morning. As part of the rationalized traffic system, movement of vehicles will remain suspended from 12am on Saturday till the Akheri Munajat (Sunday morning) from Tongi to Bhogra Bypass on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, Khamarpara road, Abdullahpur to Bypile on Ashulia road, he said. Read more: Commuters asked to avoid airport road for BRT work till Saturday midnight The GMP commissioner requested people to use the bypass road to avoid traffic gridlock. The first phase of Biswa Ijtema started on Friday morning and it will end through the Akheri Munajat on Sunday morning.

The first phase of Bishwa Ijtema, one of the biggest congregations of Muslims in the world, in Tongi is continuing for the second day today (January 14, 2023) — drawing devotees in the lakhs. The three-day congregation began on the bank of the Turag river after Fajr prayers on Friday with sermons delivered by noted Islamic scholar Maulana Ziaul Haque of Pakistan. Several lakhs of Muslim devotees, both from home and abroad, are converging at the venue and attending the prayers — reciting the names of Allah and hearing the sermons. Also read: Biswa Ijtema: World's second-largest Muslim gathering begins Maulana Khurshidul Haque of Pakistan delivered sermons after Fajr prayers and Maulana Ibrahim Deula of India also delivered sermons in the morning. Maulana Iftar Zaman will deliver sermons in English. Devotees from different parts of the country are still coming to the Ijtema venue by buses, trucks, boats and on foot. Read More: Nagad sets up booth at Bishwa Ijtema The first phase of Ijtema will end tomorrow (Sunday, January 15, 2023) with Akheri Munajat (final prayers). Ijtema is being held in two phases from 2012 to ease accommodation issues. The second phase of Ijtema is scheduled to be held on January 20-22 at the same place. Meanwhile, six devotees died in separate incidents at the Ijtema venue on Thursday, Friday and today. Read More: 1st phase of Biswa Ijtema begins Friday A mass wedding ceremony will be held today at the ground after Asr prayers. Gazipur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mollah Nazrul Islam said additional police personnel have been deployed in and around the Ijtema venue to ensure the security of the devotees. The venue has been brought under closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera surveillance. Besides, thousands of volunteers are working round the clock to make sure the event runs smoothly. Read More: Foolproof security measures taken ahead of Ijtema: IGP Several health centres have been set up at different parts of the venue along with beds and almost all first aid and other treatment facilities with doctors doing round-the-clock duties at each centre. Special measures have also been taken to ensure uninterrupted electricity during the three-day Ijtema. Tabligh Jamaat has been organising the congregation at the Tongi venue since 1967. In 2011, it divided Ijtema into two phases to accommodate a large number of attendees. Read More: Sylhet police asks Anjumane Hefazat-e-Islam to postpone their ijtema till after BNP’s rally

The first phase of the three-day Biswa Ijtema, billed as the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, began Friday morning after two years of Covid hiatus on the bank of the River Turag river in Tongi. The 56th edition of the annual Biswa Ijtema (World Congregation) began with the a'mbayan (general sermons) of Pakistani Islamic scholar Maulana Ziaul Haque after Fajr prayers. Read more: Foolproof security measures taken ahead of Ijtema: IGP Thousands of devotees from home and abroad – including India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Syria, Chad, Tajikistan Turkey, Afghanistan, Palestine, the UK, and the US – thronged the bank of Turag to listen to scholars reciting and explaining verses from the Quran and to renew their commitment to Islamic values.

The first phase of three-day ‘Biswa Ijtema’, billed as  the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, is set to begin Friday morning on the bank of the Turag river in Gazipur's Tongi. The authorities concerned have completed the necessary preparations to hold the gathering smoothly. A good number of foreign devotees from different parts of the world along with local ones have thronged the Ijtema venue to join Ijtema. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in separate messages greeted the Muslim devotees on this occasion. The government set up health camps for the devotees to provide them treatment like the previous years. However, two devotees died of cold-related disease at the venue on Thursday. State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russell inaugurated a private health camp for the devotees today. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhuury Abdullah Al Mamun visited the Ijtema ground today and said that they have taken strict security measures for the devotees. Apart from this, special security measures have been taken for the foreign devotees who are coming from Dhaka airport to the Ijtema venue, he said. Gazipur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mollah Nazrul Islam said as part of the security measures, watch towers and CCTV cameras were set up in and around the venue. Besides, members of intelligence in plainclothes will remain deployed here to ensure security, he said. Read more: 1st phase of Bishwa Ijtema to begin January 13 The Ijtema was not held in the two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The first phase Biswa Ijtema will end on Sunday through Akheri Munajat (final prayer). Tabligh Jamaat has been organising the congregation at the venue since 1967. In 2011, Tabligh split the Ijtema into two phases, dividing the participation of the people of 64 districts, to reduce pressure on the venue and ensure better management. The second phase of the Ijtema will be held from January 20 to 22 this year. A 22km long tailback created stretching from Tongi Bridge to Moghbazar in the city on Thursday due to the huge pressure of Ijtema-bound vehicles in Tongi. The gridlock stretched from Tongi Bridge-Abdullahpur-Airport to Mohakhali-Moghbazar areas of Dhaka resulting in sufferings for commuters.  Read more: First-phase Biswa Ijtema ends with Akheri Munajat

The second phase of the three-day Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, ended on the banks of the Turag River in Tongi on Sunday through the ‘Akheri Munajat’ (final prayers).

Two more devotees died due to old age complications at the Ijtema venue in Tongi on Friday night.

The second phase of three-day Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of  Muslims after Hajj, begins on the banks of the Turag River at Tongi on Friday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday joined the Akheri Munajat of the 55th Biswa Ijtema from her official residence Ganobhaban.