Roads from Dhaka airport to Ghazipur were packed with thousands of pilgrims as they headed back home at the end of the first leg of the Biswa Ijtema, the second-largest gathering of Muslims after Hajj.
The pilgrims boarded buses, mini-trucks, push carts and other modes of transport available near the Ijtema Maidan to return home. Trains were also packed with people who had returned from Ijtima.
Devotees thronged the Ijtema site on the banks of the Turag river in Tongi after attending the ‘Akheri Munajat’ or final prayer at 10 am on Sunday. But many of them faced trouble due to lack of adequate transport on the roads.
There was no direct transport available from the Ijtema Ground to Dhaka and hence, many participants set out to their destinations on foot, while others hired private cars, autorickshaws, vans, motorcycles and pickups.
Al Amin, a resident of Kakrel, said most of the pilgrims went back to Dhaka as they could not find transport.
Naujesh Ali, a native of Pubail in Ghazipur, said people traveled in groups at different times to attend the last prayer. But while returning, they all left at the same time, causing a transportation crisis. “So they had to pay more than the normal fare.”