Greed puts lives at risk

Three months ago, a devastating fire raged through a portion of Kalyanpur slum, killing a young man and injuring several others. The investigation by fire service officials found faulty electric connections behind it.

However, the same low-quality power connections were installed while rebuilding this settlement.

Four incidents of fire in the space of a month at four slums in the capital late last year rekindled the issue of faulty power lines. Investigation by the fire service found electric short circuits behind three of these incidents -- in Kalyanpur in late October and two in Mohakhali and Mirpur in end November -- said Abdul Halim, assistant director at Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence.

Slum dwellers allege that syndicates run by some local ruling party men in collusion with unscrupulous officials from Desco and Titas provide these illegal power and gas connections.

Illegal gas and power lines pose serious dangers to around two lakh dwellers of five major slums in the capital -- Korail and Sattola in Mohakhali, Natunbazar Porabosti in Kalyanpur, and Bhasantek Bosti and Chalantika Bosti in Mirpur.

At least three dozen syndicates operate in these five settlements and supply gas and electricity to slum dwellers, The Daily Star found after talking to slum dwellers and sources involved in the illegal trade.

They earn an estimated Tk 3.40 crore per month for this "service" -- a large chunk of which is allegedly used to "manage" police and Titas and Desco employees.

On average, slum dwellers pay Tk 500 for electricity and Tk 700 for gas every month.

While several residents said a few houses in these slums were given electricity connections legally through setting up electric metres on poles, other connections are illegal.

There are 85 large and small slums in the capital, according to the fire service.

Home to around 1.1 lakh people in 30,000 houses, Korail Bosti is spread over 90 acres of government land in Mohakhali.

In Mirpur, the 40-acre Bhasantek Bosti houses around 30,000 people in 4,750 homes and Chalantika Bosti, on 20 acres of khas land, houses 15,000 people living in 3,000 houses.

Around 20,000 people live in 4,000 shanties in Sattola slum while around 13,000 people live in 2,600 shanties in Natunbazar Porabosti in Kalyanpur.

In Korail, at least 20 syndicates, allegedly led by local Awami League men, are involved in providing 15,000 illegal gas and 20,000 power connections to slum dwellers.

Korail slum dwellers also alleged that a local Swechchhasebak League leader who controls power connections there have told them to pay Tk 30 more per point from February this year.

In Bhasantek, at least three syndicates are involved in providing around 1,500 gas and 4,750 electricity lines to slum households, sources involved in the illicit trade told this newspaper, and two AL leaders reportedly run the syndicates in Chalantika.

In Sattola slum, at least 10 syndicates are involved in the illicit trade while at least two syndicates run the trade in the Kalyanpur slum.

Md Kausar Ameer Ali, managing director of Dhaka Electric Supply Company (Desco), admitted that power connections at the slums are mostly illegal.

"People live in the slums and they need electricity. On humanitarian grounds, we will not disconnect their lines. But we are trying to figure out how we can provide it in a legal way. We already gave some connections in groups."

Hawkers, shopkeepers, roadside vendors, rickshaw and van pullers, CNG drivers, domestic help and workers in the garments, construction, and transport industries mostly live in the slum shanties, largely made of tin, wood, and bamboo.

Fire officials and experts said faulty electric connections, illegal gas lines, and carelessness of the slum dwellers are some of the main reasons behind frequent fire incidents in the city's densely-populated slums which were built in an unplanned way over the years.

According to the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, 30 fire incidents took place at different slums in Dhaka last year -- among 96 such incidents across the country -- killing at least 10 people.

Since 2017, at least 126 fire incidents took place at different slums in Dhaka and 271 in slums across Chattogram alone -- among 689 such fire incidents in slums across the country.

On average, 39 percent of total fire incidents that took place in the country since 2017 were caused by faulty electric connections, according to fire service data.

While after most such slums fires, many victims allege that these might be acts of sabotage -- fire officials, however, haven't yet found any incidents of sabotage in their investigations.

FAULTY WIRING, CHEAP CONNECTIONS

Col Zillur Rahman, director (operations) at the fire service, said slum fires mostly originate from electric short circuits because the wires are of very low quality and installed in an undisciplined way.

"The ingredients of the slums are like food of the fire. In winter, it gets drier. When fire catches, it spreads like wildfire," he said.

During a recent visit to Sattola slum in Mohakhali, where 98 shanties and shops were gutted in a fire in November last year, these correspondents found that some slum dwellers were rebuilding their shanties and shops using the same low-quality wiring and plastic pipe gas lines.

A similar situation was seen in Kalyanpur slum.

"This is dangerous, the way low-quality electric connections are hanging haphazardly and gas connections are through cheap pipes. We frequently find leaks in gas connections and have to repair these," said Mahbubur Rahman, a resident in Sattola for the last six years.

An electrician by profession, he said households pay Tk 180 for each light bulb, fan, and television, and Tk 600 each for a fridge and a gas connection.

Residents of the slum say many households have electric heaters too.

Illegal, risky gas connections, too, remain a serious threat to slum households as the quality of distribution lines and the way they are installed fall far below the standard.

The syndicates connect stainless steel pipes to the main lines of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, to siphon off and distribute to slum houses using galvanised iron (GI), plastic, and even rubber pipes.

Such pipes were seen laying around haphazardly in the slum as well as hanging precariously overhead. These correspondents at first took those to be water lines but locals confirmed that these were for supplying gas.

Fire service officials said fires are difficult to bring under control and spread quickly because of the web of illegal gas pipes across the slums.

The slums are also crisscrossed by substandard electric wires supported by bamboo and wooden poles and having multiple joints in places. A number of such poles are in a dangerously tilted position.

From the main utility poles, electricity is transmitted to slum houses through this risky wiring. Any leak can lead to accidents, especially in the rainy season.

Contacted, Rafiqul Islam, assistant commissioner of Gulshan Division where the Korail and Sattola slums are located, told The Daily Star that they haven't received any complaints regarding illegal gas and power connection in the slums so far.

Mofizur Rahman, councillor of Dhaka North City Corporation's ward-19 and also president of Awami League in the ward, said some political leaders are using the signboard of the party and providing these connections with the help of some unscrupulous Titas, Desco, and police officials.

"However, we are working to make the process legal so that poor slum dwellers in Korail get gas legally," he added.

A senior official of Titas, requesting anonymity, said under existing law they cannot supply gas to the slums as these settlements are khas land and the houses have no holding numbers.

Also, if the government provides gas connections at a cheaper rate, people from villages will throng the city's slums, which will ultimately increase the [gas supply] burden," he also said.

He added they often conduct drives at slums to sever illegal connections.

Sources said Titas conducted a drive in Korail slum last month to sever the illegal gas connections -- but within three days of the drive, the syndicates had managed to get the connections up and running again by "managing" the officials.

The Daily Star ran a report in August 2019 when officials of police, Titas and Desco had made similar comments, but no changes are yet visible in the supply and quality of utilities in the slums.