Monwara Begum, a resident of TT para slum at Dhaka’s Kamalapur, used to beg on the streets for a living along with her 20-year old disabled son.
She also saved up Tk10,000 in cash with a dream of setting up a small business near the slum in future.
But tragedy struck early on Saturday when a mysterious fire broke out at the slum and gutted at least 30 shanties, along with Monwara’s home.
Like Monwara and her son, at least thirty families are now living under the open sky.
“We were asleep when the fire erupted at midnight at a shanty in the slum. I could only save myself and my disabled son when fire reached out tin-shed house, but my savings remained under the mattress. Everything I owned was reduced to ashes, even my boy's wheelchair,” Monwara said.
Another slum dweller, 60-year-old Rizia said she had a small business of trading old bricks in front of the slum. To run the business, Rizia loaned money from three NGOs and local lender and she also had some cash savings in the shanty.
“However, all of my savings perished in the fire,” she said.
Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Director Debashis Bardhan said the fire originated at TT Para slum around 1:56am. On information, 13 fire fighting units rushed to the spot and doused the blaze after around 3:30am.
The causes behind the fire could not be known immediately. The extent of damage could be ascertained after investigation and no casualties were reported.
Mysteriously fires have occurred at different times in Dhaka's numerous slums over the past several years.
