Suzana Rahman
The roads were completely gridlocked following protests over the arrival of a top religious scholar from India to attend the Biswa Ijtema, around the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka yesterday. A section of Tablig-Jamaat men joined the protesters blocking the Airport Road resulting in a gridlock stretching all the way to Tongi Bridge, The Daily Star reports. Indian Tabligh-Jamaat Scholar Maulana Saad Kandhalvi reached the Dhaka airport by a Thai Airways flight around 1:00pm but he could not get out of the airport due to the protest. A group of religious people started gathering in huge numbers in front of the airport to protest the arrival of Kandhalvi that led to a traffic congestion on Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway, the Bangla daily reports quoting Mokhtaruzzaman, Inspector (Investigation) of Shahjalal Airport Police.The 53rd Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of the Muslim community after the holy Hajj, will be held in two phases from January 12-14 and January 19-21 on bank of the river Turag amid tight security.