40 lakh pilgrims join Jumma prayer at Ijtema ground

About 40 lakh pilgrims and a large number of people from the capital Dhaka and adjacent areas joined Jumma prayer on Friday on Biswa Ijtema ground, the eastern bank of Turag. 

The Dhaka-Mymensingh was closed due to heavy pressure of people. 

The first phase of the Bishwa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslim community after hajj, began officially after Fazr prayer in Tongi, on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, amid tight security and shivering cold. 

Thousands of devotes gathered on the banks of the Turag River to take part in the first phase of the Bishwa Ijtema. 

Earlier, the annual congregation began with the a'mbayan (general sermons) of Pakistani Islamic scholar Maulana Ziaul Haque after the Fajr prayers. 

The first phase of Ijtema will end on Sunday with Akheri Munajat (final prayers). The second phase of the Ijtema will commence on February 9.