IT HAS been 14 years since a fire at a chemical warehouse at Nimtali in the Old Town of Dhaka killed 124 people, but no action has been taken against those responsible for the fire. On the anniversary of the deadly fire on June 2, the National Human Rights Commission issued a statement expressing frustration at the failure of the police to investigate the fire. The initial probe into the fire, however, confirmed that the fire was caused by flammable chemicals stored on the ground floor of a residential building and suggested that all authorities concerned, from the city corporation to the ministry of industries to the department of fire service, cannot deny their responsibilities that their negligence in monitoring the activities of chemical industries in the area has contributed to the making of such a tragedy. While the tragic fire shook the nation, the police appeared indifferent. No case was filed, but a general diary was filed with the Bangshal thana a day after the fire. The police apparently lost the copy of the general diary and never acted on it. The chairperson of the commission says this is clear violation of existing rules on criminal proceedings because, after a general diary is filed, the concerned police station must investigate the matter.
The government has not only failed to ensure a credible probe, but it has also failed to implement the High Court order that came immediately after the Nimtali fire, directing the government to identify the unauthorised operation of chemical factories and to take initiative to relocate the operation of such businesses from the area. In 2010, the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation drafted a plan on relocating the chemical warehouses elsewhere, but it took eight years to finally take up the project and decided that the businesses would be shifted to Munshiganj by 2021. In 2020, the cottage industry authorities approached the National Economic Council with a request to extend the project completion deadline to June 2022, but missed the extended deadline as well. In February, project officials reported that only 61 per cent of the project work is complete, meaning that the project will miss its completion deadline yet again. Meanwhile, recurring fires in chemical storehouses in the area are causing deaths and injuries to innocent citizens. In February 2019, a fire at a chemical storehouse in Churihatta of Old Town killed 70 people and left another 50 injured, but the victims are yet to see justice or any form of compensation.
The government must, under the circumstances, take fire safety concerns seriously and address regulatory failures in this regard. In doing so, it must ensure investigations into the Nimtali and other similar fires in the Old Town of Dhaka and take action against all those responsible for the fire. It must also expedite the process of relocating the chemical industry and its warehouses from the area.
