PM Hasina allocates Tk9 crore as Eid gift for traders affected

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has allocated Tk9 crore as an Eid gift for traders affected by the devastating Bangabazar fire.

The money has already been disbursed via mobile banking, said Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah, principal secretary to the prime minister on Tuesday (18 April). On 4 April, a massive fire broke out at the Bangabazar Market in Dhaka and it spread to some other nearby markets, burning over 5,000 shops, with mainly readymade clothes and footwear, to ashes.

The financial loss from the devastating fire is estimated at Tk303.05 crore, according to the probe report of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). The report mentioned that the probable cause of the fire is a cigarette or mosquito coil and ruled out electric short circuits as a reason. , The report also identified a tailor shop on the second floor of Adarsha Unit of the market complex as the origin point of the fire. According to the investigation report, the fire caused a financial loss of Tk288.35 crore by burning down goods stored at 3,845 shops in seven markets of the complex. A further Tk14.70 crore loss came from the damage to infrastructures, including Tk1 crore to Anexco Tower.

However, according to the investigation report, Anexco Tower will not be filing a damage list as most of the shops in the market have insurance.

The other damaged markets are- Gulistan Unit, Banga Unit, Mahanagari Unit, Adarsha Unit, Mohanagar Shopping, Complex, Banga Islamia Market, and Banga Homeo Complex.

The Dhaka South formed an investigation committee on 4 April to probe the cause of the fire and determine the amount of damage after preparing a list of the victims. The committee handed over the report to Dhaka South Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapas on Tuesday.

The eight-member probe committee, however, did not include any Fire Service official or fire expert. The city corporation has also revised the number of victim traders to 3,845, which earlier was estimated at around 4,200. Immediately after the fire on 4 April, Md Enamur Rahman, state minister for Disaster Management and Relief, at a briefing, said that around 5,000 traders were affected in the fire.

About the inconsistency of the victim traders figure, Dhaka South City Zone-1 Executive Officer Merina Nazneen, who is a member of the probe committee, said that the victims' lists were provided by the shop owners' associations and the probe committee compiled them before submission. Merina said that the DSCC has lists of traders of Bangabazar Shopping Complex and they crosschecked it with the lists provided by the leaders of shop owners' associations. She said the list includes traders from all affected markets except those in Annexco Tower.

Read More