Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser
Salman F Rahman said that after Eid, some shops in Dhaka which are at risk of fire
and accidents will be closed. According to a related source, the government is
going to be strict against the markets, hospitals and buildings that are at
risk of fire after Eid. The fire-prone building is currently under intelligence
surveillance. Salman F Rahman said, “We
consider one or two shops unsafe and accidents can happen there.” We have to
take strict action against them. Although Salman F. Rahman gave a message of
strict action on behalf of the government, he did not name any market that will
be closed.
Most of the buildings in the capital Dhaka have been
constructed without fully complying with the fire service and civil defense
instructions. There is no fire alarm system in these buildings. There is no
adequate water and firefighting system. There are enough stairs but they are
not open. Shops-warehouses have also been placed on stairs in commercial
buildings. Even in the vicinity of the market-shopping mall building, there are
hanging electrical cables and AC equipment connections. Altogether, 55 percent
of Dhaka’s buildings are at risk. This information is available by reviewing a
recently published fire service report. The report was prepared by inspecting
various aspects of fire safety of buildings across the country from January 1
to December 31, 2022.
Recently, the dangerous market like Bangabazar in the
capital was declared dangerous on April 10, 2019, but the building owners or
businessmen did not pay attention to the notice of the fire service because
they did not have the power to take punitive measures. And due to legal
weakness, the organization could not take effective action against them. In the
last few days, several big fires have shaken all quarters.
The fire service and civil defense have listed markets,
shopping malls, hospitals, commercial and residential buildings in the capital
that are at risk of fire. The list includes 1,305 markets and buildings
including Gauchia Market, Noor Mansion, Rajdhani Super Market, Karwan Bazar
Kitchen Market, Lily Plaza, Dhanmondi Hawkers Market. Of these, 450 buildings
have been identified as high-risk. And there are more than four hundred
hospitals including Dhaka Medical and Suhrawardy in this list.
The fire service has started sending warnings to these
market authorities and building owners. All the owners of these buildings will
receive warnings or notices, according to fire service sources. According to
the fire service report, 24,102 fire incidents occurred in the country in 2022.
98 people were killed and 407 people were injured in these accidents. Among the
dead are 13 fire service officials. According to the report, Tk 342.59 crore
has been caused by fire in the year 2022. And the estimated value of recovered
goods is Tk 1,808.32 crore. Besides, 9,517 fires were brought under control
before going into operation.
The fire service inspected 5,869 buildings to prepare the
report. It identifies 2,223 buildings as dangerous. Among them, there are 671
high-risk buildings and 1,606 vulnerable buildings. At the same time,
satisfactory results are obtained in 3 thousand 96 buildings in fire safety.
Dhaka has the highest number of 54.67 percent buildings and Mymensingh has the
lowest number of 1.93 percent buildings under fire risk. 54.29 percent of
buildings in Chittagong are at risk of fire. Besides, 29.62 percent in Barisal,
41.46 percent in Khulna, 24 percent in Rangpur, 19.76 percent in Sylhet, 14.97
percent in Rajshahi and 1.93 percent in Mymensingh are under fire risk.