Bangladesh to Launch Crackdown in Wake of Massive Dhaka Fire
By Kamran Reza Chowdhury on Feb 22, 2019 Benar News
Bangladeshi authorities said Friday they would launch a crackdown to stop businesses from illegally keeping chemical warehouses with highly flammable materials near residential areas, after a massive overnight fire killed nearly 70 people in Dhaka’s old section.
The Dhaka South City Corporation said it would lead the new drive, starting next week, to “eradicate” businesses that store large quantities of combustible chemicals within densely crowded neighborhoods, such as Chawkbazar, the site of Wednesday’s horrific fire that destroyed five buildings.
“We have decided to launch crackdowns against the owners of all chemical warehouses in the residential areas, including Chawkbazar. We will start the eradication drive from early next week,” Mostafizur Rahman, chief executive officer of the corporation, which serves as the municipal government for the southern part of the Bangladeshi capital, told BenarNews.
Yet experts and locals cast doubt over whether officials were serious about taking stern action to prevent a recurrence of this week’s devastating fire. Authorities, some pointed out, had promised a similar crackdown following another chemical fire that killed 124 people in Dhaka’s Nimtali neighborhood in 2010.
“Last week, we had a meeting with the officials of the fire service and civil defense department and the department of explosives regarding the launching of fresh eradication drives against the owners of the warehouse storing chemical substances in residential areas,” Rahman said.
But before they could launch the planned drive, the fire occurred, he said. An investigation was still under way into the cause, but officials said it appeared to have been ignited by the explosion of a truck’s gas cylinder at a chemical warehouse on the ground floor of one of the five buildings that housed apartments.
The fire killed at least 67 people and injured 50 others, officials said. It took firefighters about 12 hours to put out the blaze.
“The casualties would not be so high if there were no chemical stores. We can in no way accept such deaths,” Rahman added.
Bangladeshi authorities said Friday they would launch a crackdown to stop businesses from illegally keeping chemical warehouses with highly flammable materials near residential areas, after a massive overnight fire killed nearly 70 people in Dhaka’s old section.
The Dhaka South City Corporation said it would lead the new drive, starting next week, to “eradicate” businesses that store large quantities of combustible chemicals within densely crowded neighborhoods, such as Chawkbazar, the site of Wednesday’s horrific fire that destroyed five buildings.
“We have decided to launch crackdowns against the owners of all chemical warehouses in the residential areas, including Chawkbazar. We will start the eradication drive from early next week,” Mostafizur Rahman, chief executive officer of the corporation, which serves as the municipal government for the southern part of the Bangladeshi capital, told BenarNews.
Yet experts and locals cast doubt over whether officials were serious about taking stern action to prevent a recurrence of this week’s devastating fire. Authorities, some pointed out, had promised a similar crackdown following another chemical fire that killed 124 people in Dhaka’s Nimtali neighborhood in 2010.
“Last week, we had a meeting with the officials of the fire service and civil defense department and the department of explosives regarding the launching of fresh eradication drives against the owners of the warehouse storing chemical substances in residential areas,” Rahman said.
But before they could launch the planned drive, the fire occurred, he said. An investigation was still under way into the cause, but officials said it appeared to have been ignited by the explosion of a truck’s gas cylinder at a chemical warehouse on the ground floor of one of the five buildings that housed apartments.
The fire killed at least 67 people and injured 50 others, officials said. It took firefighters about 12 hours to put out the blaze.
“The casualties would not be so high if there were no chemical stores. We can in no way accept such deaths,” Rahman added.
