Environmentalist group Poribesh Bachao Andolan (Poba) yesterday demanded that the government ban chemical factories, store houses and shops of chemical products in residential areas for the sake of public safety.
“We saw the tragic Nimtali Tragedy at Nabab Katra of Old Dhaka in 2010 which caused from a chemical factory. However, the situation did not improve as last Saturday, Pali Plastic and Soap Factory at in Old Dhaka’s Kosaituli of Bangshal faced the same incident,” Poba said in a statement.
Alongside the demand for ban, the group placed three other demands which include shifting of the chemical factories, godowns and shops to a particular place.
Poba also demanded formulation of a policy and its implementation in this regard.
The fire originated at the soap factory housed in a tin-shed building and later it caught a neighbouring hanger factory and then the four-storey residential building.
The Nimtali fire that broke out on June 3, 2010 in the densely populated older part of Dhaka claimed 117 lives and injured hundreds.