Forty-six people lost their lives in the fire at Green Cozy Cottage on Bailey Road, the busiest area of the capital. There was mourning across the country. The mourning was universal. But that grief has subsided and now it has gone from public to private. The relatives of those who lost their lives are now only grieving. Everyone else is busy with normal life. This is probably normal.
A case has been registered in connection with the fire incident at Green Cozy Cottage. The day after the incident, the police filed a case. The accused is unknown. In the meantime, the law and order forces have arrested some people. They will be interrogated. After the interrogation, they will decide whether they will be accused in the case. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Ramna Zone Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Salman Farsi confirmed the case and told the media, 'Some people have been arrested in connection with the Bailey Road fire. After verification, the people involved in the fire incident will be arrested and sent to court. Among those who have been arrested by the police are Anwarul Haque and Shafiqur Rahman, two partners of a food shop named 'Chumuk' in that building and Zainuddin Jisan, manager of a food shop named 'Kachchi Bhai'.
Among those arrested so far, it seems immediately that the first two are partners in a small eatery, the other is the general manager of a large chain of eateries called 'Kachchi Bhai'. So far, the police have not tried to reach the owner of the big shop and the owner of the multi-storied building.
According to the news received, the approved design was not followed in this multi-storied commercial building. The architect of the building, Mustafa Khalid Palash, told the media, 'The building was built in that structure knowing that it would be an office. But the building has been used as a restaurant. There was no approval in this regard from RAJUK. That is why the building did not have the facility to be used as a restaurant.' I don't know if he is saying the words now to avoid his responsibility, but the defect in the constructed building is clear in his statement.
Director General of Fire Service Brigadier General Moin Uddin said, 'There was no fire safety system in the building. Three letters were sent to the building authorities informing them of the risk. But no action was taken.' Ashraful Islam, urban planner and detailed area planning (DAP) project director of the Capital Development Authority (RAJUK), said, 'Only the eighth floor of the building on Bailey Road that caught fire has been approved for occupancy. Commercial approval was obtained for the remaining floors one to seven, but there was approval for office use only. But permission was not taken for restaurant showroom or anything else.' Minister of Health said that the Ministry of Public Works and the Rajdhani Unnayon Kartipakkha (RAJUK) should have been more vigilant after the fire incident in the building named Green Cozy Cottage on Bailey Road. Dr. Samant Lal Sen, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her anger over the lack of fire escape in the building on Bailey Road and said, "We have arranged fire extinguishers, but people are not so aware." Saw a fire in a multi-storied building, which has no fire escape system.
At a time when 46 lives have been lost and many more lives are in danger, the sound of 'no-no', complaints of 'not obeying the rules' are being heard. Where were these complaints before? Why didn't any authorities take timely action? Now their complaints are not just an excuse to avoid responsibility? How many divisions/departments/ministries/institutions including Fire Service, RAJUK, City Corporation, Ministry of Public Works are involved in various approval processes, how do they try to evade responsibility?
Citing information from the fire service, the media reports that on the ground floor of Green Cozy Cottage, there are two mobile phone and electronic equipment stores called Samsung and Gadget and Gear, and a fruit juice store called Shekhlik and a tea-coffee shop called Chumuk; Kacchi Bhai restaurant on the second floor; On the third floor is a clothing brand store named Ilion; On the fourth floor are two restaurants named Khanas and Fuko; Pizza Inn restaurant on the fifth floor; On the sixth floor are two restaurants named JST and Street Oven; There was a restaurant called Ambrosia on the rooftop and a restaurant called Hakka Dhaka on the seventh floor. There was no line gas connection in the building, so everyone used gas cylinders and related sources said that except for the second floor, gas cylinders were kept everywhere including the stairs.
According to the medical staff, most of them died due to smoke inhalation and not the fire. According to them, there was no way for the fire smoke to escape in this glass-enclosed building. As a result, most of those who could not climb to the roof died from lack of oxygen. Most of the high-rise buildings in big cities, including the capital, are surrounded by glass. The Green Cozy Cottage tragedy suggests that the same fate awaits us when something unexpected happens elsewhere.
Thursday night's fire is not unprecedented. Earlier, there were repeated fires in various parts of the country, including the capital, and countless people lost their lives. The country has repeatedly pushed dead bodies; people have been saddened again and again. Nimtali Chemical Warehouse, Tazreen Garments, Sejan Juice Factory, Seema Oxygen from BM Depot or Green Cozy Cottage on Bailey Road; In many other incidents before and after this, many people lost their lives due to the careless negligence of the concerned people and concerned authorities. Nothing happened to them. At the end of each incident, there was an investigation committee; the investigation committee gave a report. The report made some recommendations, but none are known to have been implemented. The point is that those who make recommendations are somehow of authority, they are also responsible; We have not seen them talking about that recommendation anywhere after the report.
Burning is the nature fire. People have died in the fire, countless are dying. But there is little chance of avoiding responsibility by simply calling these incidents death by fire. Chemicals in old Dhaka, gas cylinders in new Dhaka and airtight glass-enclosed buildings have become lethal. Humans have created this situation. Various organizations/departments/divisions led by people are showing the way to this state of affairs. Everyone says people died in the Bailey Road fire and smoke; Is that true? Fire and smoke are not responsible for such deaths, but people! People have burned and killed people, and other people have been given free opportunity to kill people!