Second largest Muslim congregation in Bangladesh to be held in January

DHAKA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The first phase of the second largest annual Muslim congregation after holy Hajj will begin on Jan. 13 next year in Tongi on the outskirts of Bangladesh capital Dhaka, Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal unveiled on Thursday. The grand prayer at the congregation called Biswa Ijtema on the bank of the Turag river at Tongi, some 25 km north of capital Dhaka, will be held on Jan. 15, seeking divine blessings and welfare of all mankind. The second phase of the Bishwa Ijtema, which is being held in two phases since 2011 to avoid mad rush of pilgrims, will begin on the same venue on Jan. 20 and it will conclude with the offering of Akheri Munajat (concluding prayer) on Jan. 22. Kamal said like previous years hundreds of thousands of devotees from home and abroad are also expected to join the Ijtema this time. "We've asked the Ijtema authorities to provide a list of pilgrims coming from war torn countries to the home ministry," he said. To ensure safety and security of the devotees and maintain the law and order, Kamal said thousands of members of different law-enforcing agencies will be deployed in and around 60-hectare Ijtema ground, the main venue of the congregation. He said the organizers will put up loud speakers several kilometers away from the venue so that devotees could join the grand prayer.