Big fire at Benapole Port and Gazipur

THE terrible fire that destroyed part of the sprawling godowns at Benapole Land Port in early hours of Sunday gutted imported goods and exports to India causing million of dollars of loss to business. Benapole is the largest Land Port handling about 80 percent trade with India. In another fire on the same day a Spinning Mill and Denim Recycling Plant at Kaliakoir in the Gazipur district suffered huge damage to the factories and their stock. What is surprising is that on both cases fire originated from unknown sources but its damage ran to over millions of dollars worth of goods and merchandise.

Similar fire gutted Tampaco Factory in Tongi ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha last month and the source of fire was equally unknown for sometime blaming a boiler blast for it. Later it was found that the factory was using excessive gas and the pipeline blasted from excess pressure. But what are common in all three cases is utter neglect to proper maintenance of electric gear and gas lines and such other equipment, which at times cause big accidents. The Tampaco fire killed over 40 workers and some of them still missing to show the extent of human tragedy, in addition to business losses from dishonest practices. It appears such incidents are frequently happening but we are not learning from it and improving our vigilance and safety at big godowns, shopping malls and mills and factories. Fire at Bashundhara Shopping Mall is yet another instance in early September that gutted several floors of the sprawling market making many penniless in a single day.

What we want to say is that with the rapid growth of high-tech mills and factories, high-rise buildings and shopping malls, our fire fighting capacity must also grow in the same way. We should have trained more fire-fighters and procure equipment along-with capacity building of our institutions. We must also create awareness among managerial persons what cost a slight neglect may bring about.
 
We know the Benapole Land Port authority and garment factory at Gazipur have set up inquiry committees but what is their usefulness unless the findings lead to measures such as punishing the persons for neglect of duty and creating an urgent sense at all places for improving the safety standard by replacing depleted electric gears and other spare parts.
 
We are confused as to what role that the government has to reduce the risk of fire at business establishments. Mere presence of fire-fighters itself does not end the government responsibility. In our opinion the government should enforce safety inspection routinely at mills and factories and such other places. There is no alternative, because only strong and rigorous inspection can bring pressure on management to remain watchful against risks.