Chemicals were being stored and sold illegally near Ctg market fire site
Authorities have said the fire incident could have ended up like Nimtoli tragedy which left at least 124 dead
Chemicals were being stored and sold without a license in the Chattogram market which caught fire earlier today and left one dead. Authorities have said the fire incident could have ended up like Nimtoli tragedy which left at least 124 dead.
"A tragedy like Nimtali or Churidhatta could have happened in the case of fire at the cooperative market in Andarkilla," said Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Abul Basar Mohammad Fakhruzzaman visiting the accident site on Wednesday (22 February).
"The shop where the fire took place was a factory for making fridge-air conditioners. There was no fire safety equipment. Besides, a company called AB Surgical was illegally stockpiling chemicals and selling them. Another store had gas cylinders. The people of Chittagong are very lucky that the fire did not spread in the chemical or the cylinder did not explode. If that happened, there was a possibility of a tragedy like Nimtali or Churidhatta," he added.
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Department of Disaster Management Director General Mizanur Rahman and fire service officials were present during the DC's visit.
"We have visited the entire area. The business establishments that exist there are completely unplanned. Chemicals were stored next the place where the fire started. The stairs to the building are so narrow that two people cannot move side by side. If there is a fire, there is no way to put it out," Department of Disaster Management Director Mizanur Rahman said.
Abdul Malek, assistant director of Chittagong fire service, said, "None of the shops affected by the accident had any fire extinguishing system. The deceased lived in the shop. The fire spread so fast that he could not open the door and get out. We have formed a committee of three members in this incident. Further action will be taken based on the investigation report."
Meanwhile, AB Surgical owner Didarul Islam and other officials refused to comment when asked about the stockpiling and sale of chemicals without a license.
"The district administration has paid Tk25,000 to the deceased's family for the funeral and burial. Apart from this, the district administration has taken up the awareness-raising programme with the fire service to manage the mobile courts to prevent fire accidents," said DC Abul Basar Mohammad Fakhruzzaman.
A fire broke out at the Cooperative Market adjacent to Underkilla Jamison Red Crescent Matrisadan Hospital in the early hours of Wednesday. Six shops including a fridge-air-conditioner repair shop, a lathe shop, and a surgical shop were gutted in the fire. The body of a person named Idris, 40 was recovered by the fire service from Alam Engineering, a lathe machine shop.
Meanwhile, some shop owners claimed that the fire incident at the cooperative market in Andarkilla was planned. They said that the market was set on fire over a land dispute.
"It is a lathe machine shop. How can fire start there? Our family has been running these shops for the past 60 years. We have a longstanding dispute with the owner of the site, Islamabad Town Properties. There is also a High Court stay-order on this. Due to these, fire has been set for the purpose to evict us. It is a planned murder. We will take legal action in this regard," Md Khorshedul Alam, owner of Alam Engineering, and nephew of Idris who perished in the fire, told The Business Standard.
The office of Islamabad Town Properties is located next to the accident site, but no one was found there.
