Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The four-day annual Islamic event ‘Ijtima’ concluded on Monday, with approximately 10 lakh devotees gathering for the last namaaz (prayer) at city's Itkhedi area. This huge gathering of devotees stretched up to 15 kms on the road between Itkhedi and Bhopal bus stand, jamming the entire pathway including Bhopal Talkkies road, Sindhi Colony and Gautam Nagar for hours.
There were devotees from across the world in the gathering. The arrival of people in Bhopal from various countries started from Sunday morning and continued till night. Keeping the size of the crowd in mind, Bhopal police banned the entry of big vehicles on the way on Sunday. On the other hand, volunteers of the Ijtima Committee also handled the responsibility of traffic management from the railway station to Itkhedi.
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Ijtima Gah remains dust free
Although a huge crowd was accommodated at one place, the cleanliness wasn’t compromised at Ijtima Gah. It remained green, clean and dust free. Water was sprinkled from sprinklers every 4 hours to prevent clouds of dust rising due to the movement of large numbers of people on the soil of Ijtima Gah. This process was started several days before the start of the Ijtima, which continued during the event.
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What is Ijtima?
Ijtima is an Arabic word, which means gathering of many people at one place.
Ijtema is the annual three-day congregation of Tablighi Jamaat (TJ). In this event, Muslims from various countries gather a place to offer prayers together. Ijtima in Bhopal was started by Maulana Imran in 1947 with just 12 or 14 people at Masjid Shakur Khan. After 2 years it started being done in Tajul Masjid. Women's gatherings also take place in Bhopal.
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Devotees from across the world
Apart from Pakistan, congregations from other countries including America, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, South Africa, Jordan, Afghanistan, Canada also participate in the Ijtima that commenced from Bhopal.
Generally, some restrictions are imposed for the people coming to the Ijtima. According to this, entry is not being given in Ijtima without registration. Also, there is a ban on the use of polythene and smoking material at the Ijtima venue.
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