No more licence to chemical shops in Old Dhaka
From now on, the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) will not issue any licence to chemical factories in Old Dhaka that use flammable materials.
"We will also not allow any godown [warehouse] to store flammable materials in Old Dhaka for the safety of innocent neighbours," said DSCC Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon yesterday.
He made the announcement while inaugurating a joint drive in Lalbagh area against the chemical factories that did not relocate outside Old Dhaka within the March 1 deadline.
The drive is being run by the DSCC, deputy commissioner's office, fire service and civil defence and the Department of Environment.
In 2010, a devastating inferno in Nimtoli was caused by flammable chemicals stored on the ground floor of a residential building. It killed 123 people and injured 200 others.
But that seems to have been a less than stern warning against such chemical storage as many buildings at Nabab Katra, Bangshal, Siddique Bazar, Sat Rowza, Babu Bazar, Lalbagh, Agamasi Lane and Armanitola still have factories with flammable materials.
Asking to move the factories elsewhere from Old Dhaka, Khokon on January this year declared that a joint drive would be conducted against them.
According to the findings of a recent fire inspection, all of the surveyed 360 stores, warehouses, factories and shops with chemicals were found highly hazardous in terms of fire safety, handling of the chemicals and explosion management.
All the stores and shops were found lacking even the basic fire safety equipment, like extinguishers, let alone a complete fire fighting system.
During yesterday's drive, the DSCC authorities shut down a factory at West Shaheed Nagar in Lalbagh and fined its owner Tk 2 lakh for running the factory illegally.
"It has a licence for keeping plastic goods, but instead, it was operating a shoe polish factory there,” said DSCC Estate Officer Kamrul Islam Chowdury.
All the materials of the factory were seized, he said.
Later, a galvanising factory at West Shaheed Nagar was fined Tk 10,000 for not having a trade licence and running its operation in poor condition.
Maj AKM Shakil Newaz, director of fire service and civil defence, said three teams would conduct drives in three wards in Old Dhaka from today.
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