Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday bemoaned that there was no fire exit in the multi-storied building that caught fire in the capital’s Bailey Road leaving dozens of people dead.
“The fire that broke out in Bailey Road, that is a multi-storied building, but there was no fire exit,” she said.
The prime minister said this while addressing a program marking “National Insurance Day-2024” at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital on Friday jointly organized by the Ministry of Finance and the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA).
The prime minister from the same program also inaugurated the bank insurance service that facilitated to provision premium of insurance from the bank directly.
She urged all to follow the rules and regulations while constructing any building.
“We always request our architects, at least when they design houses or buildings, keep a small open balcony, a fire exit, or a ventilation. But architects who want to build (buildings) will not design that properly and also the owners do not want to leave an inch of space,” she said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that 46 people died in the Bailey Road fire incident.
“What could be more painful than this,” she said.
However, the prime minister said that the government has repeatedly instructed to install fire extinguishers and take fire safety measures in all buildings, but that is hardly followed.
“And I know there was no insurance, so they (victims in the Bailey Road fire incident) will not get anything (as compensation). Awareness is very much needed in these cases,” she said.
