After six hours of frantic efforts, the fire that broke out at 6 in the morning yesterday at the capital’s Bangabazar Shopping Complex came under control. Meanwhile, the destruction has become complete with 5000 shops gutted or affected. A total of 48 firefighting units fought to put out the blaze that spread to at least six nearby markets.
Many businesspeople in Ramzan have just lost everything. About18 days before Eid, these people must have been hoping to earn money to make celebration of the festival in these hard economic times joyous, but their hope has now turned into ashes. In fact, all cloths merchants in Bangladesh wait for brisk sale at this season of Eid-ul-Fitr. Many not only lost their business, with it they lost their capital made up through loan or property sale.
Bangabazar clothes market is located at a central place in the capital’s Gulistan area. This three-storey market made of bamboo-wood-tin is especially vulnerable to fire. In the past also massive fires broke out and left trails of devastation at this site. Since this hawkers market is full of congested shops, the market authorities should have been extra cautious about a possible fire breakout.
It has been alleged by the Bangabazar Shopping Complex Shop Owners’ Association that yesterday’s fire was an act of sabotage. What could be the motive behind such sabotage? It is to free the space so that a multi-story building can be constructed. Hence, many shopkeepers who lost their shops are now afraid that they would never get back the place of their business. However, if this allegation of sabotage is found to be true then we must say that we are living in a society from where the thing we call conscience has left. Our society has been brutalised.
At this time of crisis, it is urgently necessary for the government as well as altruistic people to stand beside the victims of fire with cash and kind so that they can celebrate the festival—there can be no festival for them at this time—and gradually come back to normal life.
While we write this piece on Bangabazar fire we worryingly note that Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), the capital’s building-regulation authority, has found that 683 buildings in eight zones of the capital are using their basements to store flammable items, violating building-construction rules. This is inviting danger of gigantic proportions. The nation is witnessing massive fire incidents one after another, but this finding by RAJUK tells us the past incidents of fire have not taught us anything.
