Police have arrested 16 employees from various establishments in Wari, Dhaka, for operating restaurants without ensuring minimal safety and fire risks. Several risky gas cylinders have been seized from these restaurants.
Following the Bailey Road fire incident, which resulted in the deaths of 46 people, police and various agencies have started raids in different areas of Dhaka, and police conducted an operation in Wari on Monday.
The operation was carried out by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Wari Division at restaurants on Ranking Street in the capital on Monday.
After the operation, Md Iqbal Hossain, deputy commissioner (DC) of Wari Division, told journalists: "We have started the operation since Sunday night. Rankin Street is busy, with more than 50 restaurants. We have visited these restaurants. Most of the restaurants are established in residential buildings. They are using gas cylinders for cooking. During our visits, we found that most restaurants could not ensure customer safety codes or kitchen codes.
"We saw kitchens operated in areas as congested as four feet by six feet, with seven to eight chefs cooking in such cramped spaces. The door used for exiting the kitchen was blocked with sacks of rice and flour. Gas cylinders and generators were also kept in the same place. Essentially, they are operating the restaurants in unsafe conditions,” he further added.
Iqbal Hossain said: "So far, we have arrested 16 people. Legal actions will be taken against them. A total of 16 people have been arrested from restaurants that could not maintain minimum safety standards.”
At least 46 people were killed, and over 20 others sustained severe injuries by a devastating fire on Thursday night.Firefighters rescued 70 people, including 42 in unconscious state, from the rooftop and different floors of the seven-storey Green Cozy Cottage.
Following this incident, police started a comprehensive operation in restaurants across different areas of Dhaka on Sunday night. On Monday, police, along with the City Corporation and Rajuk, are conducting raids against unauthorized restaurants in the capital.