The influx of Muslim devotees, that was started on Thursday - a day before starting the Bishwa Ijtemas first phase at the banks of Turag River in Tongi, continued into the second day of the event, one of the worlds largest Muslim gatherings, on Saturday.
However, with the death of three more devotees at the Ijtema ground in Tongi of Gazipur, the total death toll rose into 10 on the day. Most of them were due to various complications, according to the
organisers.
The first phase of 57th Bishwa Ijtema, one of the largest global Muslim gatherings, entered its second day on Saturday at Tongi with continued spiritual activities, including the recitation of Almighty Allahs divine names and sermons. Mass Media Coordinator of Ijtema Organizing Committee Habibulla Raihan said that the deceased were indented as Nousher Ali, 65, hailed from Sherpur district, Abdul Qader, 55, of Bhola district and Shadhin, 45, a resident in Netrakona district.
Earlier, seven people died on the Ijtema ground. Of them, a policeman Hasanuzzaman and two other devotees were crushed by a bus on the way to the Ijtema venue in Tongi.
Other deceased were identified as Abdus Sattar, 70, son of Abul Hossain, Ekhlas Mia, 68, son of Abdus Sobhan of Netrakona, Shah Alam, 60, son of Najir Ahmed of Bhola district, Matiur Rahman, 60 of Jamalpur district, Yunus Mia, 60 of Brahmanbaria district, and Zaman Mia, 40 of Chapainawabganj.
The organisers expect that another wave of arrivals would be experienced before the first phase of the event wraps up with the final prayer on Sunday.
The first sermon of the day was delivered by Maulana Abdur Rahman from India, with Bangladeshs Maulana Abdul Matin providing the Bangla translation.
The other notable speakers scheduled to address the gathering are Maulana Ismail Godhra, Maulana Zuhairul Hasan, and Maulana Ibrahim Dewla.
The Ijtema grounds also hosted dowry-free weddings after the Asr prayers on the day like the previous day.
The mornings sermon emphasised the importance of dedicating ones life to spreading the faith for eternal contentment and success, highlighting the virtue of perseverance in faith and deeds.
Although the main sermons are in Urdu, they are instantly translated into multiple languages such as Bangla, English, Arabic, Tamil, Malay, Turkish, and French to cater to the diverse backgrounds of the attendees.
Despite enduring challenges like dust, dirt, rain and the cold, devotees have remained engrossed in the scholars speeches throughout the event.
