Dhaka, Jan. 31 -- The 58th Bishwa Ijtema gathering has started in Gazipur's Tongi as hundreds of thousands of Muslim devotees crowd the banks of the Turag River.

The main activities of the Tablighi Jamaat organised event began with a general address after Fajr prayers on Friday, but people had been pouring into the grounds from Thursday to take part in the massive gathering.

On Friday morning, Muslim devotees from different parts of the country flocked to the grounds in droves. Since the early morning, people wearing turbans and Punjabis from Tongi and the surrounding districts of Dhaka have been rushing to the grounds on a variety of transports.

Habibullah Raihan, media coordinator of Tablighi Jamaat's Shura-e-Nezam, said that the Bis...