Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Wednesday ordered the formation of an investigation committee headed by a professor of Chemical Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in the incident of fire at BM Container Depot at Sitakunda of Chattogram.
The Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral Resources (MPEMR) will form this committee with other experts.
The committee has been asked to determine the responsibility and cause(s) of the fire incident and report it to the High Court within three months.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order after hearing on a writ petition filed in this regard.
The court also issued a rule asking the concerned bodies of the government
to explain in four weeks as to why they should not be directed to take legal action against the responsible persons of the fire incident and to pay adequate compensation to the family members of the deceased and injured persons.
Power, Energy & Mineral Resources Secretary, Home Secretary, Disaster Management and Relief Secretary, Industries Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Director General of the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department, Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram and other respondents have been asked to comply with the rule.
Two rights organizations, Law & Life Foundation Trust and CCB Foundation, filed the petition on June 29 also seeking HC directive to the authorities concerned to pay compensation of Tk 20 million to each deceased’s family and Tk 5 million to each injured victim of depot fire at Sitakunda.
Barrister Humaun Kabir Pallob, Advocate Md Emrul Kayesh Khan appeared in the court on behalf of the petitioner. As per the writ petition, at least 50 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a fire at BM Container Depot in Chattogram’s Sitakunda on June 4 this year.
The number of casualties in the fire increased due to the stockpiling of flammable chemicals by BM Container of Smart Group without disclosing it to the appropriate authorities.
Many firefighters were killed and injured as the fire service did not have the necessary information on the chemicals which were stored there, it added. Besides, firefighters are unable to control fires caused by chemical due to lack of necessary training and modern equipment, it said.
Earlier, the Law and Life Foundation Trust and the CCB Foundation had served separate legal notices seeking compensation for the victims, said Barrister Pallab.
