Fire follows eviction drive at city slum

A fire broke out in the capital’s Kalyanpur slum on Friday, a day after the High Court imposed an injunction on demolition of the slum half way through an eviction drive by housing and public works ministry amid protest by the slum dwellers.
The slum dwellers alleged that local ruling party lawmaker Aslamul Haque was behind the fire, which damaged some 100 shanties leaving around 300 more low-income people without any shelter. No casualties, however, were reported.
Fire service officials said their fire-fighting units were intercepted by some unruly people on way to the spot. Police later chased them, making way for the fire-fighters.
The slum dwellers said around 9:45am, some 50 to 60 goons, wielding hockey-sticks, iron rods and sharp weapons, swooped on the slum, when the slum’s adult male and female, mostly rickshaw puller, domestic help and day labourers, had gone out for work.
‘Seeing the rowdy goons, who wore red headband, frightened young children who were playing around ran away. The goons then poured petrol on the shanties before setting fire to them and left,’ described sexagenarian Fazlu Molla, who was staying at home.
Fire service officials said the fire was reported around 9:45am. They reached the spot around 10:30am and put out the flame around 12:00pm. In the meantime, around a hundred shanties were burnt down.
Fire service’s Mirpur station officer Abdullah Al Arefin told New Age that the causes of the fire could not be known but it ‘seemed to be a planned work’.
He said two fire-fighting units were intercepted by some people. ‘They warned us not to douse the flame, but police cleared the way for us, chasing them away,’ Arefin said.
After fire was put out, the slum dwellers brought out a procession protesting at what they called arson.
They chanted slogan against lawmaker Aslamul Haque, demanding his hanging as they alleged that Aslam was behind the fire.
‘Aslam’s men torched our houses pouring petrol to evict us by force, because High Court has ruled against our eviction,’ said Nadim Mohammad, a leader of the slum.
Nadim, also organising secretary of Krishak League, ruling Awami League-backed farmer’s organisation, said he was threatened by Aslam Thursday night asking him to evacuate the slum.
When contacted, Aslam, brushing aside the allegation, told New Age, ‘No allegation against me carries any weight.’
Mirpur police station inspector [investigation] Shafiqur Rahman said they did not get any allegation of torching the slum. ‘But we will investigate whether it was an accident or a deliberate act,’ he said.
Some 500 shanties were brought down in Thursday’s eviction by the by housing and public works ministry.
Some 3,000 people, who became homeless in the eviction, passed the night under open sky in chilling cold at a nearby field.
At least 30 people were injured, one with bullet, in daylong clashes between slum dwellers and the police during the drive.
The High Court issued a three-month injunction on the demolition of the slum following a petition by rights organisaiton Ain O Salish Kendra amidst protests by the homeless people.
The drive, however, continued throughout the day.
Nur Alam, an executive magistrate of the ministry of housing and public works, who led Thursday’s drive, said there was a 50-acre land owned by Housing and Building Research Institute and of it, about 15 acres were under illegal occupation by the slum dwellers.