One after another, horrendous fire incidents are happening in the country, resulting in panic and anxiety among the people.
Concerned circles pin the blame on safety implementation authorities whom they say need to be held accountable for unethical practices.
Almost every day, news of terrible fires are reported, but who is responsible for allowing multi-storey buildings? When something happens, different organizations blame each other. Are the buildings approved according to the instructions of City Corporation, Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense, Rajuk, is everyone's question.
A fire broke out in the Kacchi Bhai restaurant building at Bailey Road in the capital, which the architect said was built for office use. Not designed for restaurants. Apart from this, gas cylinders have been installed in the fire exit staircase making it impassable. The result:46 people lost their lives in this sudden fire. Therefore, those who were negligent in this case will have to face the law, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan.
He also said that an investigation agency can be assigned the responsibility to take action against those doing these irregularities. There will be representatives of the Fire Service, Rajuk and Mayor in the body. All of them will sit with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and decide on this matter soon.
On Sunday (March 10), the Home Minister told reporters after the general preparation meeting for the celebration of the Genocide Day on March 25, and the Independence Day on March 26 in the ministry meeting room at the Secretariat, the question of everyone is, who is responsible for this fire? Because of this, the operation is being conducted to fulfill the responsibility of everyone. The cause of the fire is being investigated and action will be taken accordingly. They see that there was a lack of oversight in Rajuk. Whether there was any negligence in the case of the hotel-restaurant is also being seen.
The Capital Development Authority (RAJUK) revealed that 207 of Dhaka's 1,818 high-rises were not approved and 475 had no documents to show. And of the 1,136 buildings approved, their construction violated the original design. Additional floors have been constructed in 277 buildings. Many other violations were reported in 674 cases.
RAJUK authorities said, “Recent surveys showed that 70 to 80 percent of buildings do not comply with the building code. In line with these violations, there are 124 buildings rented out for residential use despite having only commercial permissions. And in 49 buildings, the inspection team saw commercial activities despite being residential complexes. 309 buildings repurposed their parking space.
Rajuk teams found that 309 high-rises were vertically expanded without permission, and 738 buildings violated land use norms 5.5 feet.It found that 1,155 high-rises lacked sufficient firefighting equipment such as hydrant, extinguishers, hose and alarm system.
The Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting Act says a building exceeding six stories must have fire exits, and two staircases, while city corporation guidelines require a building above five stories to have two staircases.
An alarming lack of firefighting equipment was also noted in 1,155 buildings, and 566 have no emergency exit. There are 721 buildings that had the fire exit made elsewhere, violating the approved designs.
According to a survey report by the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department, it is of serious concern that about 38.87 percent of high-rise buildings are vulnerable to fire.
After the tragic death of 46 people in the Bailey Road fire, the memory of 195 people who lost their lives in the Nimtoli and Churidhatta fires has become fresh. Turning around, the chemical warehouses of old Dhaka came up again in the discussion. Despite repeated requests, the godowns could not be shifted from this populated area.
It should also be noted that in June 2010, at least 195 people died in a massive fire that broke out in a chemical warehouse in Nimtoli, Old Dhaka. For chemical fires Bangladesh has 150 firefighters who are trained abroad to fight chemical fires. They have special equipment and suits. The members of this team are stationed at the headquarters and divisional cities, according to sources of fire service and civil defense headquarters.
Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, who visited the Bailey Road fire spot earlier, said the building was constructed in complete violation of building code which requires buildings having more than five stories to have two staircases with one designated for emergency use. "We found on inspection that despite being a 10-storey building, there is one staircase and that staircase is also not wide as per the prescribed standard," the mayor said.
Asked how restaurant owners and other businesses set up in unplanned buildings secured trade licences from the city corporation, the mayor said there were no flaws in issuance or renewal of trade licences. Building laws were flouted there, he pointed out.
"We have sent a policy to the government making it mandatory to take permission from the city corporation for construction and reconstruction of buildings," Mayor Taposh said, hoping that the policy will be approved.
The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), which is responsible for approving building designs in the city, yesterday said commercial buildings did not have permission to set up restaurants. The structure has approval for a seven-storey commercial building.
"However, it is not designated for restaurants, showrooms, or any other similar ventures, but for office use," the official said, finding it a violation of law. Many new names appear in the food world, but very few of them care about the safety of their staff and visitors, as restaurants are vulnerable to fire incidents from active kitchens.
It has become imperative to inspect and increase the manpower and capacity of all institutions responsible for saving lives from this type of fire.