Left under open sky
As many as 400 shanties were gutted as a devastating fire broke out at Rupnagar slum in the capital's Mirpur yesterday.
The fire left around 5,000 people homeless, according to Dhaka North City Corporation officials.
Twenty-five fire engines took around three hours to douse the fire, which erupted around 9:45am.
The local lawmaker claimed that the number of damaged shanties was around 2,000, but fire service officials said the number was 400.
There are illegal gas and power connections to the slum on government land, which contributed to the fire spreading, locals said.
The reason behind the fire could not be known immediately. No casualties were reported either. Power and gas connections were cut off so that the fire could not spread to adjacent area.
Most of the slum dwellers are labourers, garment workers and rickshaw-pullers, said locals.
Many suspected it was arson intended to evict the slum dwellers. Besides yesterday's fire, there were two fires in the slum very recently, locals said.
A signboard of the housing and public works ministry has been put up next to the slum. The signboard says the site is designated for a housing project for the rehabilitation of lower and lower-middle class families.
Talking to reporters on the spot, local MP Elias Uddin Mollah said those affected by the fire would be sheltered in a school nearby.
Jina Begum, who was diagnosed with tuberculosis a month ago, said she moved to the slum four months back with her day labourer husband and three children.
"My husband and I were outside when the fire broke out … We could not save anything. Everything was burnt to ashes -- my medical documents, Tk 8,500 and my children's books," said Jina, asking, "Where will we go now?"
Some affected people have taken shelter at the adjacent Islamia Government Primary School.
Lt Col Zillur Rahman, director (operations and maintenance) of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters, said they primarily identified three reasons -- short circuit due to illegal power connections, gas leak and gas cylinder -- behind the fire.
He said the actual reason could be known after investigation.
A four-member body was formed to investigate the fire, and the committee was asked to submit its report within 10 days, said Zillur while talking to journalists on the spot.
ILLEGAL GAS, POWER CONNECTIONS
Syndicates set up gas and power connection lines across the slum, said locals.
Galvanised iron pipes, plastic pipes and even rubber pipes were used for gas connections. Some were precariously hanging overhead inside the slum.
This correspondent found gas burners were connected to those lines.
Some alleged that an unholy nexus of local influentials and some dishonest Titas Gas employees stole gas from the main transmission and distribution lines of the company.
Munirul Islam, deputy general manager of Titas Gas (zone 12), refuted the allegations and said people know who control those connections in exchange for money.
The tenants said they spent Tk 2,000 to Tk 3,000, including gas and electricity bills, for each room a month.
The shanties are owned by people who maintain close connections with local influentials. The owners have to pay a cut to the influentials, locals said.
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