Fire at Rajshahi pharma factory

A fire broke out at the factory of Kemiko Pharmaceuticals Limited in Rajshahi city's Tikapara area yesterday, damaging its electric supply machines worth Tk 45 lakh.

The blaze was triggered at 11:45am from a transmitter blast at the factory's generator room and engulfed the building, Forhad Hossain, station officer of Rajshahi Fire Service and Civil Defence said.

However, three fire fighting units from Rajshahi Sadar, Nawhata and Rajshahi University doused the flames arrived at the scene by 11:55am with five fire trucks, and doused the fire in about 40 minutes. “We managed to save the factory's laboratory building from the fire,” he said.

He said the transformer that was set up in 2005 might have some weakness resulting in the blast.

No casualty occurred at the fire as the authority evacuated its staff promptly, said the factory's acting manager Ashik Ahmed.

Only the transformer room was damaged, causing a loss worth around Tk 45 lakh, he said.

However, local residents were not happy by the incident.

“A huge amount of black fume entered into our house causing breathing problems for us,” Sharmin Sultana, a local resident.

Hundreds of locals protested the incident, claiming that the authority lacked proper fire safety measures, causing suffering to the residents. They also protested setting up the heavy industry inside a densely-populated residential area.

Police intercepted a mob that attempted to enter the factory.