Lives taken, dreams shattered

Abul Kashem, 45, used to drive buses owned by others for 25 years and dreamed of one day owning his own bus.

Soon  after he just purchased a bus of his own on loan, tragedy struck; he lost his life in an explosion in the capital's Moghbazar.

The explosion that occurred in a building in the area left at least seven killed and over 50 injured.

At that time, Kashem was steering a bus that was stuck in traffic on the road beside the building.

A heavy object on fire flew out of the building during the explosion and hit Kashem. Parts of his body were burned and he died on the spot. His assistant was also injured and admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said Kashem's relatives.

Kashem had loaned Tk 11 lakh and bought a bus of Azmeri Poribahan 15 months ago.

"We are supposed to pay back 1.2 lakh every 12 months, including Tk 10,000 interest, as instalments [until the loan is cleared]," said Kashem's wife Shohagi Begum.

"We failed to pay eight instalments as the income from the bus dropped significantly during the lockdowns. He [Kashem] had even thought of driving a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in the upcoming lockdown to earn some extra money… After I saw the bus burning, I knew it was all over."

She said Kashem used to visit her family, who live in Gazipur's Chandura upazila, every four or five days. Their only daughter is eight years old.

Shohagi had called her husband a mere 10 minutes before the explosion. "He told me he was stuck in traffic and would call me back later. Hours later, we saw the news of the explosion on television."

Kashem was supposed to go home yesterday, she said.

Mostafizur Rahmna Shagor, 25, a third-year student of Bangla department at Kabi Nazrul Government College and a passenger in the bus Kashem was driving, also died in the accident.

His cousin SM Muniruzzaman Mahfuz told the Daily Star that after the explosion, Shagor sustained a head injury, while some parts of his body were burnt.

"A shutter of a shop nearby flew onto the bus due to the impact of the explosion and hit Shagor's head. He was taken to a nearby hospital. His mother received a call from there and heard the news."

From Mymensing's Goforgaon, Sagor lived in the capital's Shonir Akhra with his friends. He came to this area as he had an appointment with an ENT specialist. After visiting the doctor, he called his mother and let her know that he would be going back home soon.

Two other victims were Jannat Akter, 23, and her nine-month-old daughter Subhana. The two had gone to Shawarma House, a restaurant in the area, with Jannat's brother.

Her husband Sujan, who works at Ramna Pharmacy near Moghbazar, said after the explosion he went to Community Hospital and found his daughter's dead body. He then went to DMCH and found Jannat's dead body.

"Subhana had just started calling me "baba [father]", I have lost everything… Why should I keep living any longer?"

Three other victims were Ruhul Amin Noman, a law firm employee; Md Swapon, a driver of a tobacco company; and Osman Gani Tushar, 27, chef of Shawarma House.

Tushar died at 3:00am yesterday while he was being shifted to a hospital in Panthapath from DMCH. After his death, he was immediately taken to Chandpur and buried. Police were informed about his death later, confirmed Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge of Ramna Police Station.

Dr Samanta Lal Sen, coordinator of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, yesterday told The Daily Star that 17 people were treated at the institute after the explosion. Most of them have been released.

Till yesterday, three were undergoing treatment in the ICU – all with 90 percent burns on their bodies -- while two are being treated at wards in the institute.

Two others are undergoing treatment at DMCH, said Bacchu Mia, inspector of DMCH police outpost.