Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) will launch drives against chemical storehouses and factories in Old Dhaka from next week.
A committee will be formed within a week consisting of stakeholders who will be responsible to look for storage of 20 banned chemicals, DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon said.
Khokon made the announcement at an event titled “Renewal of trade license and transfer of businesses to Chemical village,” held at Nagar Bhaban in Dhaka.
The committee will carry out inspections before trade licenses for chemical factories are renewed.
“This committee will consist of representatives from different businesses, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Department of Environment, City Corporation, Fire Service and other concerned stakeholders,” he said.
It will also conduct field inspections and those found storing banned chemicals will be penalized by mobile courts, he warned.
Factories without any banned chemical will be given trade license in consultation with committee members, the mayor said.
He said that the purpose of this is not to create any obstacle for businesses, but to ensure security of the people and properties.
“Monitoring is not possible by the city corporation alone; all the agencies concerned have to assist in this exercise. We want to renew trade licenses of chemical factories, but not to those that store chemicals hazardous to health or susceptible to fire,” said Khokon.
The committee will analyze the issues and will take instant action, he said.
The DSCC mayor said the executive magistrates will take action on any business, stores, warehouses or houses that stores flammable material which are threats to life and property.
DSCC chief executive officer Mostafizur Rahman, FBCCI president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, DSCC chief revenue officer Yusuf Ali Sarder attended the meeting.
To curb pollution in Dhaka, the government has plans to move all chemical factories outside Dhaka to a isolated village in Keraniganj.
A fire, which originated at a chemical store in the Nabab Katra locality in Nimtoli, Old Dhaka, killed 124 people and injured scores on June 3, 2010.
The Nimtoli fire incident has virtually fizzled out of the public memory and authorities have failed to remove chemical units from residential areas and prevent fresh ones from mushrooming.
According to Fire Service officials, different buildings in old town including Armanitola, Babu Bazar, Mitford, Shahidnagar, Islambagh and Chawkbazar areas do store highly combustible chemical compounds at illegal warehouses.
Most of these warehouse owners have been running businesses for years – in some cases, for generations – and do not want to leave the area, locals said.
