A taskforce, formed by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), resumed its drive against establishments storing hazardous chemicals in Old Dhaka for the third consecutive day today.

A team of the taskforce led by Brig Gen Sharif Ahmed, chief health officer of DSCC, started the drive on Nanda Kumar Lane in Churihatta area around 11:45am, our staff correspondent reports from spot.

They first disconnected utility lines of three buildings on Asgar Ali Lane and Nanda Kumar Lane for illegally storing plastic raw materials.

The drive was temporarily suspended yesterday after a section of local businessmen protested the move. Today, a huge number of police are accompanying the teams of the taskforce in the drive.

The taskforce has so far disconnected utility connections of 37 establishments in Old Dhaka for housing hazardous chemicals.

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY?

A taskforce comprising officials of 14 government agencies was forced to suspend their operation yesterday in the face of angry protests from local traders in Bakshibazar where a chemical-fed fire killed at least 71 people on February 20.

The authorities on several occasions after 2010 Nimtoli fire urged the traders of Old Dhaka to relocate their chemical factories and warehouses from residential areas. But they did not pay heed to the repeated requests.

Yesterday, the drive resumed after around two hours following direct intervention of Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon.

On Monday, the mayor announced that a month-long crackdown would be launched against warehouses of “dangerous chemicals”, and utility lines of 21 such establishments in Shaheednagar and Islambagh were snapped on Thursday.