The commercial building on Bailey Road in the capital where 46 people died in a massive fire did not have permission for housing restaurants.
The building, Green Cozy Cottage, had permission for office use, not restaurants and eateries, according to Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
Breaking the permission, the building housed eight restaurants, a juice bar and a tea and coffee shop.
There were also shops of mobile phone, electronics equipment and clothes.
According to Rajuk, the building was approved for eight floors. Only eighth floor was allowed for residential construction.
Ashraful Islam, Town Planner and Director of Detailed Area Planning (DAP) project of Rajuk, said commercial approval had been taken for the building from one to seven floors. But it was only for office use. There was no approval for restaurants, showrooms or anything else.
The commercial building on Bailey Road in the capital housed at least eight restaurants, including Kacchi Bhai.
The other restaurants are- Khana’s, Pizza Inn, Street Oven, Ambrosia and Fuoco Hot, Hakka Dhaka and Chumuk.
Besides, there were outlets of Gadget and Gear and the electronics brand Samsung on the ground floor.
It has been identified that there were three eateries namely Khana's, Pizza Inn and Street Oven on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors respectively. Hakka Dhaka was on the sixth floor and Chumuk was on the ground floor.
Apart from these, there is another clothing store called Closet Cloud in the building.
All businesses have been destroyed in the fire.
While Rajuk said the building was not approved for a restaurant or clothing store, the fire service also said the building lacked fire safety.
Rajuk on Friday formed a seven-member committee to investigate any probable faults in the design and approval process of a building on Bailey Road that caught fire last night claiming 46 lives.
The committee headed by Rajuk member (development control) was asked to submit its report by the next seven working days to the Rajuk chairman, its chief town planner Md Ashraful Islam said.
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.
The fire broke out at around 9:45pm.
Most of the people died as they jumped off the building or from burns or suffocation, said firefighters who brought the fire under control around 12:30am.
Fire officials say the blaze spread fast due to the presence of gas cylinders on several floors in the restaurant kitchens. People could not leave the building due to smoke in the staircase.
