100 made homeless in fire

A fire in the capital's Madhya Badda burnt down the belongings, including savings, of around a hundred low income families yesterday.

Boarders of Bhai Bhai Boarding, a two storey tin and wood structure erected on a pond, had to helplessly stand by and watch their homes burn to ashes as 16 units of firefighters struggled to douse the fire.

A few hundred tin shanties that also housed grocery stores, tea shops and temporary restaurants were gutted in the fire that broke out around 12pm.

“I left my room for just a few minutes to go to the grocers' and by the time I returned, I saw my belongings, including Tk 40,000 in cash, turn into ashes before my eyes,” said victim Zakir Hossain who earns his livelihood as a driver.

Luckily there were no human casualties in the fire as most residents were away for Eid, said Osman Gani who owns the shanty. Gani is a local Awami League leader and commissioner of Ward 21 of Dhaka North City Corporation.

“I'm thankful that my children left Dhaka before Eid. But I don't know where they will live now when they return,” said Anwara Begum who works as a maid in the city. She lived in one room at the boarding.

An electric short-circuit was the probable reason behind the fire, Abdul Halim, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence of Dhaka, told The Daily Star.

Locals, however, said the fire originated from a stove used by a shanty dweller to make fuchka.

District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Anwarul Islam Khandker, who visited the scene, confirmed that around 200 shanties, most of them locked, were burnt.

Gani said the shanties were built atop a pond that belonged to his family. The shanties stand on pillars erected in the water body and have electricity and gas supply.

An employee of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd who visited the spot, however, said that the gas connection was illegal.

It took firefighters an hour to bring the fire under control. Firefighter officials said that they struggled to reach all portions of the shanties because of the narrow road that led to them.