Korail fire leaves hundreds homeless

Holding their little babies, women huddled together in small groups for warmth, sitting under the bare sky.

When they went to bed on Thursday, they had a home, small savings and valuables.

But a devastating fire that broke out around 2:45 in the morning at Korail slum in the capital's Mohakhali gutted at least thosand houses and rendered hundreds of families homeless.

According to Brac, the number of families is at least 4,000.

When the fire started, all the slum dwellers could do was to run through the narrow alleys to save their lives. When they returned, their belongings were reduced to ashes with smoke still swirling from it.

“We are left with nothing,” lamented Younus Miah, a security guard living in the slum for 23 years.

Seeing flames engulfing his neighbourhood, the 60-year-old ran outside carrying his 95-year-old mother. “I took her (mother) to a safer place. When I returned, my three rooms were burnt to ashes,” said Younus.

Kalam Bali was staring at the burnt remnants of what used to be his home. “It was all I had,” said the 42-year-old.

Yesterday, the day labourer was able to find a place amid the ruins for his five-member family to get some rest. He said he used some polythene sheets as a shade. “I don't know how I will be able to rebuild with my meagre income?”

Visiting the area yesterday, this correspondent saw many of the victims were busy clearing the ashes, while some sat on the ground not sure yet what the future holds.

Some NGOs were assisting them with primary aid, but those were not adequate, said the locals, adding that there were scarcity of food and drinking water.

Many children could not attend schools as their study materials were burnt. Some NGO-run schools were also gutted in the fire, they added.

Not only the shanty dwellers, many shop owners also lost their businesses due to the fire.

Two months earlier, Rafiq, 48, and his son Sujon, 20, opened up a stationary shop investing Tk 2 lakh, which was also gutted.

“I had to borrow some money to start the business,” said Rafiq. “I don't know what will happen now.”

A middle-aged couple Khalil and Nasima used to run wholesale grocery business. “We invested around Tk 7 lakh. Everything is gone…,” Nasima could not finish the sentence.

Like her, most of the residents in Korail Boubazar slum are small business owners, garment workers or day labourers.

“We are on the process of making a list of the victims,” said Mofizur Rahman, local ward councillor.

Several NGOs are also helping to prepare the list, said a Brac official, adding that the list will be made by tomorrow.

On December 4 last year, some 526 shanties were destroyed in another fire that engulfed a section of Korail Boubazar slum and rendered about 2,000 people homeless.