Fire burns 200 shanties in capital

Some 200 shanties gutted as a slum caught fire in the capital’s Mohammadpur area early yesterday, report agencies. The fire broke out at Banshbari Slum in Chan Miah Housing around 4.25am, said Palash Chandra Madak, an inspector at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Control Room. On information, 16 firefighting units rushed to the sport and put out the blaze around 5:23pm, he said. The fire soon engulfed the slum, burning down the 200 shanties, said Jamal Uddin Mir, officer-in-charge of Mohammadpur Police Station. The origin and cause of the fire could not yet be determined. The extent of damage was also yet to be ascertained, said officials. Ruling Awami League MP Jahangir Kabir Nanak visited the spot yesterday morning.
“The fire originated from a three-storied make-shift house,” said one of the locals. Some slum dwellers claimed that the fire was a planned sabotage to oust them from the area. However, local leaders dismissed such allegations as baseless. The local ward commissioner told reporters that the administration will provide 30kg rice and Tk 3,000 as aid to each of the affected family. During the past few months, hundreds of shanties of several slums in Dhaka including Karail in Gulshan and Sattola in Mohakhali area were destroyed in fire incidents. Another devastating fire caused severe damage to the DCC Market in Gulshan-1.

Fire burns 200 shanties in capital

Some 200 shanties gutted as a slum caught fire in the capitals Mohammadpur area early yesterday, report agencies. The fire broke out at Banshbari Slum in Chan Miah Housing around 4.25am, said Palash Chandra Madak, an inspector at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Control Room. On information, 16 firefighting units rushed to the sport and put out the blaze around 5:23pm, he said. The fire soon engulfed the slum, burning down the 200 shanties, said Jamal Uddin Mir, officer-in-charge of Mohammadpur Police Station. The origin and cause of the fire could not yet be determined. The extent of damage was also yet to be ascertained, said officials. Ruling Awami League MP Jahangir Kabir Nanak visited the spot yesterday morning. The fire originated from a three-storied make-shift house, said one of the locals. Some slum dwellers claimed that the fire was a planned sabotage to oust them from the area. However, local leaders dismissed such allegations as baseless. The local ward commissioner told reporters that the administration will provide 30kg rice and Tk 3,000 as aid to each of the affected family. During the past few months, hundreds of shanties of several slums in Dhaka including Karail in Gulshan and Sattola in Mohakhali area were destroyed in fire incidents. Another devastating fire caused severe damage to the DCC Market in Gulshan-1.