Tougher stance needed to remove chemical warehouses
A task force has been formed comprising officials of 14 government agencies after the devastating fire that took lives of 71 people in the capital’s Chawkbazar area. The aim of the taskforce is to remove all illegal chemical warehouses from old Dhaka and its surrounding areas. But the task force is facing hindrances in conducting its operation because of the resistance from the traders and factory owners. For that reason, they were compelled to stop drives for several times. At one stage, the team was also confined by the local traders while a government owned car was also vandalised by them. They demanded cancellation of the ongoing drive against illegal chemical businesses.
There is no way but to remove the chemical warehouses and factories, those posing threat to area’s safety. Now the question that involuntarily arises about the effectiveness and methodology adopted to conduct the recent operation. How, the illegal traders get so much courage to drive away the task force members? Why not the authorities concerned are taking tougher stance against the lawbreakers?
Md Jalal Ahmed
Jatrabari, Dhaka
