One Year of Chawkbazar Fire: The state must be held accountable

The state must be held accountable for the deaths in the disastrous fire in Chawkbazar's Churihatta last year, eminent citizens yesterday said at an event to commemorate one year of the tragedy. 

"This was manslaughter, murder by negligence. These deaths happened because of people who did not adhere to their moral and legal responsibilities…," said Sultana Kamal, a noted human rights activist. 

She decried how the owners of Wahed Mansion, where the fire had occurred, had gotten out on bail a few days into being arrested. 

The heads of Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB), Ain O Salish Kendra, Nijera Kori, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association (Bela), Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) were also present at the event held at Dhaka Reporters' Unity. 

"Even though the government promised that the chemical warehouses of Old Dhaka would be removed [and relocated] to Shyampur and Tongi, the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation has only just established the foundation stone of the proposed warehouses on January 9," said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bela, reading out a statement on behalf of those present.

The proposed warehouses are to be spread across six acres of land and will be built using a budget of Tk 79 crores 42 lakhs. 

The statement further said that even though the government was supposed to finish this project by 2020, its future is in question because a few days into operation, the government found a large crater on spot, thus increasing the budget of the project by another Tk 1.5 crore. 

Furthermore, the project lacks any guidelines on chemical storage, worker safety and environmental impacts in spite of being located beside the Buriganga. 

Families of those who lost their loved ones to the fire incident attended the event and all conveyed their need for financial assistance. They said they have not received anything since the incident. 

"We have come to know from media reports that private banks donated Tk 30 crore to the Prime Minister's relief and welfare fund for the Chawkbazar victims. This money belongs to them and a guideline needs to be created on how to disburse the money," said Shamsul Huda, chief executive of ALRD. 

Dr Ifterkharuzzaman, executive director of TIB, said, "The victims are not in want of anybody's sympathy. They only want what is their right." 

The civil society members demanded transparency from the related quarters. 

Sultana Kamal pointed out that after the Nimtoli fire incident of 2012 that killed 124 people, the High Court had given certain directives, none of which has been implemented. 

These include the removal of warehouses and factories from residential neighbourhoods, increasing surveillance on agencies seeking licenses for this trade and undertaking legal action against factories without fire licences. 

The organisers demanded that strict action be taken against those in Old Dhaka who rent out their residential buildings as warehouses. 

"A Chemical Safety Committee comprising experts in the field must be formed nationally to prevent such chemical disasters in the future," said the statement distributed by the organisers.