Syed Shemul Parvez :
Inhabitants of the old Dhaka are in serious panic as frequent fire incidents are occurring everywhere specially in the capital recently.
According to the sources, there had been four major fire incidents in the old Dhaka in the last 13 years.
Among these, the biggest fire in the history of the country took place on 3 June 2010 in Old Dhaka’s Nimtali. At least 124 people were killed in that devastating fire at a chemical warehouse.
Again, on 20 February 2019, 78 people died in the fire in Waheed Mansion at Churihatta in Chawk Bazar.
After each fire, the recommendations of the investigation committee and task force were given, but there was no implementation and follow-up of the instructions. Especially after the Nimtali tragedy in 2010, even after the 17-point recommendations were made by the investigation committee and the order was issued by the High Court, there was widespread reluctance and aversion to those recommendations and instructions.
As a result, there was a recurrence of heavy casualties in the Churihatta fire in 2019.
After the Churihatta fatal fire, chemical warehouses and factories were decided to be removed to Shyampur, Tongi and Munshiganj in 2019. Although work is underway, no significant initiative has been taken to remove these warehouses so far, sources said.
According to the TIB study, there are about 15,000 warehouses in Old Dhaka that have 5,000 types of chemicals. Some of these chemicals are highly flammable. There are also about 1,000 plastic factories and warehouses in the area.
Besides, around 250 people have been killed in the last 13 years in terrible fires incidents at chemical godowns and plastic factories in the capital’s Old Dhaka area, but those chemical factories have not yet been relocated to avoid such tragedies in the future.
Following such accidents, the government formed investigation committees and task forces that recommended relocating factories vulnerable to hazards and not issuing any new licence for these businesses. Despite the new ban on licensing, the business is growing in old dhaka illegally.
In this issue, when asked about the number of illegal factory in old Dhaka, Abu Naser, Public Relation Officer (PRO) of DSCC, told the New Nation that there are still about 1924 chemical godowns factories in old Dhaka. These all are illegal. We don’t have approval to this factory.
Ministry of Industry is on charge of these factories. These factories’ are supposed to the transfered to Munshiganj on the direction
of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Abu Naser said.
While talking over the update of transforming Chemical factories, Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, Project Director (PD) of Bscic Chemical Industrial Park, told the New Nation that the Bscic Chemical Industrial Park and Bscic Plastic Industrial City project, which started in 2018 to relocate these godowns and factories to the Munshiganj area around Dhaka, was only 71% complete.
The government plans to relocate godowns and factories from Old Dhaka to these two areas by July next year, but the project is unlikely to be implemented before 2024.
He added that the land acquisition work of the project has already done. Besides, various basic works including electricity connection, drainage, sewer line, gas connection, etc have not started yet, which will take a long term to be completed.
Urban planner and architect Iqbal Habib said the government lacked the sincerity to remove these chemical godowns and factories. After each incident, those concerned assure people that steps would be taken but they forgot everything after a short while.
Besides the government’s lack of sincerity, the invisible influence of many influential businessmen and individuals are working behind it. Since most of the traders involved in these businesses are locals of Old Dhaka, they are not willing to leave the area and do business elsewhere, he added.
Fire service authorities said there was no approval from the government for the factory.
