Illegal Chemical Storage
Old Dhaka hub left out of first day’s drive
Day one of the drive against warehouses of combustible chemicals in the city’s residential areas yesterday ended without visiting its nerve centre in Old Dhaka amid lack of coordination between the mobile court and fire service officials.
Starting around 12:45pm, the court managed to raid only four warehouses of inflammable chemicals and a plastic factory at Elephant Road and outer part of Old Dhaka in three hours.
Of them, the three chemical storehouses at Elephant Road were found empty, as their owners have already shifted them outside of Dhaka in line with the government directive.
Following the devastating Nimtoli fire that killed at least 121 people in June this year, the government directed the owners to shift their warehouses of combustible chemicals from residential areas within September 30.
Mohammad Al Amin, executive magistrate of Dhaka district administration, said they received too little assistance from the assigned fire service officials to conduct the drive smoothly.
Fire service officials started dilly-dallying when the magistrate asked them to head for Old Dhaka. At one stage, Zahurul Amin, the assistant director of fire service and civil defense, said he forgot to bring the list of chemical stores in Old Dhaka.
Al Amin said the court, accompanied by 18 Rab members and a few fire service officials, was logistically well equipped, except for the unpreparedness of the fire service officials.
“It has been a mistake,” said Zahurul Amin on forgetting the list containing names of 800 chemical warehouses in old town.
The fire service officials, however, took the court to the outer part of Old Dhaka when the magistrate threatened to postpone the drive and issue a show-cause notice for their “non-cooperation”.
During its drive in Old Dhaka, the court fined Abdul Gaffar Company, a plastic factory at Hosne Dalan, Tk three lakh for not keeping fire extinguisher at its store and sealed a chemical warehouse near Chankharpole intersection for not having licence.
The court also disconnected its electric connection for storing illegal combustible chemicals, and asked the fire service officials to file a regular case against its owner for operating without permission.
“The drive will continue, and we’ll visit other stores in Old Dhaka,” Al Amin said replying to a query as to why they did not conduct the drive at the main spots of chemical warehouses.
Fire service officials should be prepared for the drive, and should update the list of stores operating in the area violating government order.
