Al Mamun Harun Ur Rashid :
A chemical-fueled fire in Dhaka’s Mirpur area once again exposed the city’s deadly cycle of negligence, weak enforcement, and ignored safety warnings.
Experts pointed out that the negligence and lack of accountability of the concerned authorities like City Corporation and Rajuk should be held responsible for the repeat of such incidents which claims lives in huge number.
Besides, the experts opined that the probe reports of each incident should be made public and the recommendations should be followed strictly to save lives and properties.
The Mirpur tragedy is another wake-up call as the city residents have witnessed grave fire incidents erupted out of the flammable chemicals stored in residential buildings.
Earlier, city residents had seen such incident in Nimtoli in 2010, Chawkbazar in 2019, Armanitola in 2021 and Siddique Bazar in 2023.
Each time, officials arrive, ministers speak, committees are declared, and promises are made yet nothing changes. Chemical warehouses continue to operate illegally across residential neighborhoods, and lives continue to be lost in preventable fires. The deadliest of these fires was at Nimtoli in Old Dhaka on June 3, 2010. That night, an electrical transformer exploded and ignited chemicals stored inside cramped residential buildings. The fire spread so fast that families were burned alive before they could escape.
At least 124 people died, most of them women and children. The government formed a high-level investigation committee and promised strict action.
The committee made a list of recommendations: relocate chemical storage from residential areas, enforce building safety rules, install fire hydrants, and create separate industrial zones for hazardous materials. But those recommendations were largely ignored.
Nine years later, the horror of Nimtoli returned in Chawkbazar. On February 20, 2019, another chemical warehouse operating without permits triggered an inferno that ripped through the congested neighbourhood, killing at least 71 people.
The fire was so intense that it melted cars and burned people on the street. Again, a government committee investigated and promises were made again.
Dhaka South City Corporation announced that all chemical warehouses would be removed from Old Dhaka within 21 days but that never happened. Instead, chemical traders quietly moved their businesses into hidden warehouses across Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Moghbazar, and Uttara.
In 2021, a similar fire struck Armanitola in Old Dhaka, killing 25 more people.
Containers of perfume chemicals had been stored illegally in the basement of a residential building.
Two more investigative reports were filed. They repeated what previous committees had already said: chemicals and people cannot share the same building. Still, there was no real enforcement.
In 2023, a chemical-related explosion in the Siddique Bazar area killed at least 20 more people. The building did not have fire exits, emergency alarms, or fire licenses.
No one was punished and even no official was held responsible. The only people who paid the price were the workers and residents who died.
According to officials from the Fire Service and Civil Defence, more than 15 major committee reports have been submitted in the last 15 years after chemical fires in Dhaka.
They contain the same demands: relocate chemicals, enforce safety laws, build wide roads for fire trucks, crack down on illegal storage, and introduce criminal punishment for violators. But these recommendations have remained only on paper.
The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation announced a plan in 2011 to build a chemical industrial park in Munshiganj so that hazardous materials could be stored safely, away from homes.
Fourteen years later, that project remains unfinished and in the meantime, chemicals are stored in basements, ground floors, and bedrooms of thousands of residential buildings.
The Fire Service has no legal authority to close illegal warehouses. City corporations, Rajuk, police, and the industries ministry hold that power.
Urban safety experts say politics is the main reason. Chemical business owners are wealthy and influential. They have links to politicians and local leaders who protect them. As a result, the business continues and the danger grows.
Former Additional Director General of the Department of Environment Engineer Md Abdus Sobhan on Wednesday told The New Nation: “The Mirpur fire is tragic and deeply alarming. Accidents can happen, but when chemical explosions occur in residential areas, it is not an accident, it is negligence.”
He also said, “City corporations issue trade licences and collect taxes from these businesses. So the question is – how do they permit chemical storage in residential buildings without any inspection?”
Sohban, also President of Paribesh O Jalabayu Paribartan Andolan (PARIJA), said, “RAJUK can also be held responsible for the failure of regulating building use in Mirpur.”
He said, “Action must be taken not only against those running these chemical warehouses without maintaining guidelines, but also against the officials who approved them.”
Speaking about the repeated pattern after such tragedies, he said: “After every chemical fire, a probe committee is formed, but the reports never see the light of day.”
“The recommendations are rarely, if ever, implemented. Everything becomes quiet after a few days – until the next disaster happens,” he said.
