Staff Reporter :
In the wake of a horrific chemical explosion at Sitakunda, the Chittagong Customs Authority has sold 609 drums of hydrogen peroxide on spot -auction which were lying at the Chittagong port for four years.
These chemicals were put up for sale for public auction on Monday afternoon.
At that time, as the highest bidder, an organization called Messrs. Yaqub Traders bought these chemicals for Tk 5 lakh 20 thousand.
Earlier, the port authorities sent a letter to the customs authorities on Sunday to quickly remove the drums of these hydrogen peroxides after a horrific explosion at the BM container depot in Sitakunda.
The next day, on Monday, the customs authorities decided to sell 609 drums of hydrogen peroxide at a spot auction. At the time of import, the consignment contained 30,450 kg of chemicals.
Ali Reza Haider, Deputy Commissioner, Auction Branch, Chittagong Customs, confirmed the information to media.
He said that as the highest bidder, Yaqub Traders bought the consignment for taka 520,000. At the same time, the company will also pay 13 percent VAT.
The shipment of hydrogen peroxide was also supposed to be cleared for clearance yesterday.
According to customs sources, four years ago, a knit garment company called Keya Knit Composite Limited in Gazipur imported the consignment of hydrogen peroxide from Turkey. But the company did not release them after arriving
at the port. Since then, the shipment of two containers has been lying in the port premises. The reserve price of the consignment has been fixed at Tk. 23 lakh 80 thousand. The fire that broke out at the BM container depot in Sitakunda at around 11.45 pm on Saturday did not come under control till 5 pm on Monday (June 6).
Along with the fire service, Rover Scouts, Red Crescent, various voluntary organizations and members of the Bangladesh Army are working to put out the fire. So far 49 people including nine fire fighters have been killed in the blaze. The death toll is expected to rise further. More than 400 people were injured in the blaze, including depot workers, locals, firefighters and police.
