Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md. Atiqul Islam said that if there is no fire safety, no trade license will be given to any store or shopping mall.
If necessary, the concerned shop or shopping mall will be closed down, he added. The DNCC mayor said this while addressing a seminar on "Fire Safety - What We Should Do" at Nagar Bhaban in Gulshan on Thursday night. He said 380,000 trade licenses have been issued by Dhaka North City Corporation so far.
The mayor said that every shop, shopping mall and commercial building should be run in compliance with the importance of public safety.
He said that in order to build a healthy and safe city by achieving the sustainable development goals, everyone has to play an effective role from their respective positions.
Steps would be taken to formulate and implement integrated building construction policy in a timely manner and steps would be taken to make the definition of multi-storey building applicable and clear to all.
The DNCC mayor said that although fire safety is very important for public safety, during the on-site inspection it was seen that none of the buildings in the city where the fire broke out had adequate fire safety.
In his keynote address, Salman F. Rahman, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Private Industry and Investment, thanked the Mayor of DNCC for organizing an important seminar on "Fire Safety - What We Must Do".
Salman F Rahman said that the committee, formed by the government with him as its chairman, would take steps to formulate and implement timely laws as per the recommendations of experts with the aim of preventing accidents and ensuring safe working environment in mills, industries and commercial establishments.
He added that loans would be provided by the government if necessary to strengthen long-term fire safety.
The seminar was conducted by Md. Selim Raza while, Chief Executive Officer of DNCC, Md. Sirajul Islam, Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, Md Jasim Uddin, President of FBCCI, ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, Director General of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense Department Brigadier General Md. Sajjad Hossain and President of Shop Owners Association Md. Helal Uddin were present.
