Restaurant owners today alleged that the government agencies are extorting money in the name of raids after the fire accident took place in an eatery in Dhaka's Bailey Road at the end of February.

"Different agencies are extorting as much as possible by intimidating the restaurant owners in the name of the raids," said Imran Hasan, secretary general of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners' Association (BROA).

Hasan spoke at a press conference organised by the BROA at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity in the capital today to protest the anarchy created by the government agencies in the restaurant sector since the Bailey Road fire incident.

The rooftop restaurant in the Gawsia Twin Peak tower, on the capital’s Satmasjid Road, being demolished during a drive by Rajuk authorities on March 4. The drive was conducted as the building was constructed for offices and not for housing restaurants. PHOTO: PRABIR DAS

What urban development authority Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) is doing in the name of safety compliance drives is not acceptable anyway, he said.

The Rajuk started conducting drives in commercial buildings for fire safety compliance since February 29 when a fire broke out in Bailey Road's Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall, killing 46 people.

So far, 16 restaurants housed in a 14-storey commercial building and 11 restaurants in a 15-storey building on Satmasjid Road were sealed off along with two restaurants on Bailey Road.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence officials also sealed off a five-storey building that housed several restaurants in Khilgaon.

The police have arrested at least 21 people after raiding various restaurants in Dhaka's Gulshan, Dhanmondi and Wari areas on March 3. Among them were restaurant owners and employees.

A total of six cases were filed against them alleging misconduct or aiding and abetting of a fire or combustible material in the restaurant.

According to the government rules, a notice has to be issued at least six months before the closure of any commercial establishment.

"But at present restaurants are being shut down without any notice," Hasan said.

"We know that restaurant business can be done in commercial spaces. Rajuk's detailed area plan from 2022-2035 has also encouraged businessmen to make mixed use of buildings," he said.

Obtaining a licence has become a time-consuming and complicated matter because of the complex government system, Hasan said.

"The complex process of obtaining licences forced us to take it through dishonest means," he said.

"Why should businessmen take responsibility for the mismanagement of government agencies? The entire system of registration has been made in such a way that the businessmen have to face obstacles at every step."

People who are extorting in the name of raids and who are entertaining the extortionists both are criminals, Ashraful Islam, chief town planner (ongoing charge) and spokesperson of Rajuk, told The Daily Star.

"A departmental case will be filed if any corruption complaint submitted against any specific officer proves to be true," he said.

At the press conference, the restaurant owners placed ‍several demands, including bringing all restaurant services in the country under one organisation.

They also recommended forming a high-powered taskforce involving experts to identify high-risk and risky buildings and create a standard operating procedure.

Currently, there are 4.81 lakh restaurants in Bangladesh, employing 30 lakh people. Overall, two crore people are directly and indirectly dependent on the sector, according to the BROA.

Dhaka has about 25,000 small and large restaurants.