Besides mourning the deaths in the Bailey Road fire, several organizations and politicians on Friday also expressed their resentment over the incident that not only left the country in shock but drew global attention.
Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) Director General (DG) Brig Gen Md Main Uddin said on Friday afternoon that there were no fire safety measures in the building.
Expressing deep sorrow and shock at the deaths, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wondered why the building lacked a fire exit.
The BNP, expressing its shock and sorrow over the fatalities, said the lack of rule of law in the country had contributed to the rise of such incidents and resultant devastating situations.
The government does not feel responsible for holding people accountable for creating anarchy in society, which causes people’s unexpected death and misery, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
In a statement later in the day, the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) said the facility was “like a time bomb.”
There was no ventilation system, and no separate exit route in case of emergency, it added.
The Bapa demanded immediate measures, including legal action against the culprits, and necessary steps to prevent the recurrence of such tragic accidents.
Visiting the site and the survivors, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chief Kamal Uddin Ahmed said: “Despite the risks of fire, no proper measures are taken in such buildings. The Bailey Road building fire has been caused by negligence.
“How is it that such a large facility doesn’t have a fire exit? Due to this lapse, many people remained trapped there. We don’t want its repetition,” he added.
Fire incidents have been a recurring affair amid slack monitoring by the authorities concerned, the NHRC chief said, suggesting exemplary punishment for those responsible for such tragedies.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Haq Inu demanded a proper probe into the incident.
Sammilito Samajik Andolan, a civil society platform, also issued a press statement on the tragedy, noting that the Building Code is violated across the country.
It also criticized the lack of a fire exit in the fire-ravaged building.
National cricketers, including Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Miraz and Taskin Ahmed, mourned the deaths.
A minute’s silence was observed before the final match of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in Dhaka yesterday evening.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board, too, on its Facebook page on Friday afternoon issued a statement over the deaths.
Showbiz celebrities, including Shakib Khan, Chanchal Chowdhury, Ziaul Faruq Apurba, Mehazabien Chowdhury, Ashna Habib Bhabna, Tawsif Mahbub and Zahara Mitu took to their social media handles to mourn and express their concern over the Bailey Road tragedy.
Leading international media outlets, among them Al Jazeera, AFP, AP, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Reuters and The New York Times covered the Dhaka inferno.
