Bangabazar shop owners ignored 10 notices on fire risk

The shop owners' association of Bangabazar did not take any action despite notices being served as many as 10 times about the fire risk there, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman told the parliament today.

Speaking on the issue under section 300 of the rules of procedure of parliament, he said the government also couldn't evict the shop owners or demolish the market due to a court's stay order in this regard.

The market was established in 1995 by the association at their own expense on the land given to Dhaka City Corporation by Bangladesh Railway in 1985, he said.

The present government in 2016 hired a consultancy firm for the construction of a multi-storey building on that land. The work order was awarded to the lowest bidder to complete it from June 2019 to February 2020.

In 2019, a letter was issued to the Bangabazar Complex Shop Owners' Association to vacate it within 30 days.

But three cases were filed seeking an injunction, and the High Court ordered suspension of the letter's effectivity, which has remained in force to date with repeated extensions, the state minister said.

Since November 2016, the market association has been issued six notices and requested to vacate the market as it's in a dilapidated condition and prone to fire hazards.

But the traders filed a case against the city corporation instead.

"Due to the stay order on the cases by the court, it was not possible for the Dhaka South City Corporation to demolish the market," Enamur Rahman said.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate had declared the market dangerous in April 2019 and hung warning banners on the premises.

The state minister said, "Though the trade association was informed about the fire risk by the issuance of repeated notices and in meetings, they did not take any action on the matter."

He said that many meetings were held with them at the Directorate of Fire Service and Civil Defense. A total of 10 notices were served.