After the Bailey Road fire, the careless operation of thousands of unsafe chemical warehouses in Old Dhaka has again become a hot topic.
The government could not relocate these hazardous facilities despite different efforts taken in the wake of two terrible fire incidents in Nimtoli and Churihatta in the last decade.
Although the chemical traders admit the risk that the warehouses are creating, they are not willing to move their businesses elsewhere. During a visit on Saturday, the warehouses in Chawkbazar, Mitford, and Armanitola areas of Old Dhaka were seen to be as operational as usual.
Deeper investigations have revealed that chemicals are kept in warehouses and residential buildings in risky conditions, and they are usually loaded at night.
Some traders even denied the existence of such warehouses. They claimed that, as small traders, they do not have any warehouses. They keep as much stock as they can in the shop. After receiving orders, they bring the goods or borrow from a larger store. They blamed traders who deal with large volumes of chemicals for keeping warehouses.
Md Hamid, manager of Rupsa Chemical, said: “Regardless of the size, every shop has a warehouse. In Old Dhaka, there are warehouses in almost all the buildings. But now some warehouses have been shifted to Keraniganj. It has increased costs.”
The statements of some workers verified the existence of such warehouses. They said that goods are not loaded in these warehouses during the day, and chemicals come when it is dark.
A person named Akhtar said: "When the vehicle comes at night, they call us. We unload the goods and keep them in the warehouse. Now, it is not our concern whether the warehouses are in a residential building or under the shop. Where can you find a warehouse except under a house? New houses do not have warehouses.”
At least 124 people were killed in the Nimtoli fire in 2010, while another 71 died in Churihatta nine years later. It was only after these two incidents that the move to relocate the warehouses began. However, for unknown reasons, a permanent project for relocation could not be launched.
The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) recently renewed the trade licence of a chemical warehouse after it relocated to Shyampur. It is the first such licence for a chemical facility to relocate in Shyampur, where the government has built 54 warehouses and two three-story office buildings. This project aims to relocate the risky warehouses to safer locations.
The DSCC renewed the trade permit for M/S Royal Ton Lacquer Coating, considering its relocation project in Shyampur, implemented by the Ministry of Industries. The renewal was granted on February 28 after the company concerned applied for it.
A study by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) shows there are approximately 25,000 chemical product warehouses in Old Dhaka and at least 15,000 of these are in residential buildings. The DSCC has given trade licences to only 2,500 warehouses. The rest are thus illegal. Around 200 types of harmful and dangerous chemicals are kept in those warehouses.
These warehouses contain flammable substances like glycerine, sodium anhydrous, sodium thiosulphate, hydrogen peroxide, methyl ethyl ketone, thinner, isopropyl and toluene. As a result, major accidents can take place at any moment.
In this regard, Bangladesh Chemical Importers and Merchants Association Secretary General Abul Kalam Azad said: “We are keen to shift the warehouses to a safer place. But we have to have a business. The government is giving us space for Tk50 per square foot, and in Old Dhaka, the rate is Tk12. We told the government that as tanneries and garments have been moved elsewhere, give us space too, and we will open warehouses and do business. There is another meeting ahead in this regard, let's see what they say now. This is not the solution. We also want to do business safely.”
In this regard, DSCC Chief Urban Planner Sirajul Islam said: “Chemical warehouses cannot be kept in populated areas and important places. They need to be shifted immediately. When the committee was formed to shift the warehouses, I was not in charge. But as far as I know, work is going on in this regard.”
Mizanur Rahman, chief executive officer of DSCC, could not be reached over the phone for a comment on the matter.
Syed Shahriar Amin, vice president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said: “The problem of Old Dhaka is that we have made our residence a business centre. But we did not shift the business centre elsewhere in time. When there is a major accident, we make laws but do not enforce them. But chemical warehouses in densely populated areas like Old Dhaka may cause major accidents again. For this, the government or those in charge should complete the process of shifting the warehouses as soon as possible.”