Bangabazar fire risk: Everyone knew but no one bothered

A six-year-old city corporation initiative to build a 10-storey shopping mall at Bangabazar never saw the light of day because of disagreements between the shop owners and the corporation.

Despite the glaring lack of fire safety at the market filled with flammable goods, nothing was done about it.

After deciding to construct the building, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) finalised a design and hired a contractor for the construction work.

But owners of shops at the three-storey building made of wood and corrugated iron sheets opposed the move because the then mayor Sayeed Khokon did not make a rehabilitation offer to them.

According to DSCC officials, the High Court issued a status quo order on the property  after the traders filed two writ petitions in 2017.

Tuesday's devastating fire was not the first at Bangabazar Shopping Complex. It was gutted several times before, said Russell Sabrin, chief estate officer at the DSCC.

The city corporation's plan was to accommodate the traders in the new building, he said.

But the traders were not willing to forgo their business during the construction of the building.

Belayet Hossain, vice-president of Bangabazar Unit-Ka Owners Association, said the shop owners always insisted that they would not leave unless they were rehabilitated.

SMOULDERING DEBRIS

Firefighters were still working at the site yesterday to completely put out the fire.

Smoke was still emitting from the piles of clothes at the site. Many roads in the area remained closed to traffic for the second day yesterday.

The fire that originated around 6:10am on Tuesday burned down at least 2,931 shops full of clothes and ruined the livelihood of several thousand traders just weeks before Eid.

Twelve fire engines were still working there yesterday.

"Our probe committee is working to identify the cause of the fire," fire service Director General Brig Gen Md Main Uddin told reporters.

Helal Uddin, who lost his shop, said, "It is impossible to recover from the loss. If the government does not support us, it will be hard for me to even make a living."

Dozens of poor women and children were seen scavenging for clothes that can be used.

One of the women, Aklima Aktar, said she was looking for something that was not badly burnt. "The good ones have already been taken," she said in the afternoon.

Another woman named Kamrun Nahar said she was looking for something to wear.

DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh yesterday met the shop owners' association leaders at the Nagar Bhaban and promised to give them financial support from the city corporation funds.

Meanwhile, clothes stored at the adjacent Anexco Tower were not completely damaged and traders were moving them elsewhere throughout yesterday. 

"We cannot take this risk. I will remove everything from this store as soon as possible," said a trader named Delwar Hossain.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday said that the city corporation will make Bangabazar a modern and safe market.

A decision will be made about the rehabilitation of traders, the minister told reporters after visiting the burnt-down market, adding that the city corporation has appointed a contractor for the job.

He also said the city corporation would come up with a logical decision regarding the affected traders.