The deadly Chawkbazar fire was not an accident but a clear case of negligence and someone must take responsibility for it, says the High Court.
The bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader made the observation on Monday (Feb 25) after hearing three separate petitions.
The petitions, lodged on Feb 24, sought compensation for the victims’ families, evicting chemical warehouses from Old Dhaka, withdrawal of gas cylinders and implementing the 17-point recommendations made by the probe panel of the 2010 Nimtali fire.
Advocate Yunus Ali Akand, Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajal, Amit Talukder and Md Riaz Uddin moved for the petition.
Deputy Attorney General ABM Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar represented the State.
The court said that the Chawkbazar tragedy could have been avoided if the recommendations from the home ministry’s high-level probe committee would have been implemented.
The state’s counsel then told the court that the government was sincere in its effort to resolve the matter.
Only sincerity is moot, the court said and added that more proactive effort from the government is required to avoid such tragedies.
Responding to an argument that the prime minister herself was monitoring the incident, it said that it was the administration’s job to implement the recommendations.
The court further said that the landlords at Old Dhaka rent out warehouses for triple the rent and themselves live in upscale neighbourhoods such as Gulshan.
The City Corporation conveniently looks the other way while innocent people lose their lives, it added.
The court said that fire service trucks cannot enter the narrow lanes of Old Dhaka and a large scale earthquake will send the tightly-packed buildings crumbling down making rescue efforts nearly impossible.
The HC said that the recurrence of such incidents is damaging for the image of the country.
The Feb 20 fire at Chawkbazar’s Churihatta intersection claimed 67 lives, just nine years after the 2010 Nimtali fire that killed 124 lives.