After losing their homes and belongings in a fire, the poverty stricken shanty-dwellers of Banshbari slum in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, are now afraid to begin again as they are tired of repeatedly experiencing such incidents.
While law enforcement agencies and local public representatives could not confirm if the fire was a drug-related arson attack, police admitted that the slum was one of the biggest drug sites under Mohammadpur police station’s jurisdiction.
Mohammad Babul, a 40-year-old cook, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had been living in the shanty since his boyhood. He was a survivor of several such fires, but the latest incident had raised doubts in his mind about reconstructing once again.
He said: “This is not a new experience for me. The dispute between the ‘elite’ affects us badly as we are caught in the middle. It was more horrible this time, as we lost everything, and for this I am afraid to begin again.”
The lives of part-time domestic help Rina Akhter and her husband Sekandar Mia were plunged into similar uncertainty. The fire was the second incident that caused them to lose their possessions and home, after they had lost their house to river erosion five years earlier.
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Furthermore, scrap metal trader Abdur Rahim and garage workers Shah Alam and Mir Hossain were among the many that had not just lost their homes but also their livelihood, as their shops were destroyed by the fire as well.
The fire, which broke out in the early hours of Thursday, burnt three quarters of the slum to ashes, causing immense losses for over 200 families.
Many of them having lost their homes in the incident, some took shelter in Banshbari High School while those with nearby relatives requested their assistance.
Among about 50 families that took shelter at the high school was that of rickshaw puller Mokhles. He was seen sitting close to the remains of his shanty yesterday, as he talked about the possibility of getting more relief from the authorities with others. Rather than wait, some had already begun constructing new homes with half-burnt tin.
Another rickshaw puller, Mohammad Yunus, stressed the need for more relief as he said they were suffering from an acute water crisis.
Also Read- Mohammadpur slum fire likely linked with drug-related dispute
Tarequzzaman Rajib, councillor of Dhaka North City Corporation’s (DNCC) Ward Number 33 which includes Mohammadpur, gave 30kgs of rice, Tk3,000 in cash, a lungi, a sari and a children’s shirt to each affected family.
The local lawmaker said a decision on providing house-building materials to the affected dwellers was yet to be made, adding that he could not confirm the slum dwellers suspicions of the fire being drug-related.
Local resident Mahadi Hasan said the slum was a cause for concern for the other building residents, mainly due to security issues. The fire caused substantial damage to some flats of the buildings adjacent the slum.
He claimed to have asked to move the shanties from the present location, but the local councillor preferred building less fire-hazardous houses for the dwellers instead.
Mohammadpur police station Officer-in-Charge Jamal Uddin Mir said they were investigating the incident, but the motor-bikers who allegedly set fire in the shanties were yet to be traced.