Bangladesh: Slum Fire Leaves 10,000 Homeless

A massive fire broke out at a slum in Bangladesh’s capital and left more than a thousand shanties to ashes.
The fire spread to several nearby buildings as a strong wind was making the firefighters’ job difficult. Nevertheless, the firefighters managed to rescue four injured people and take them to a hospital. The blaze rendered thousands of slum dwellers homeless and left them with nothing besides a few charred valuables.
The slum dwellers were forced to flee their homes with whatever they could find at hand, as their cries made the neighbourhood gloomy. Police and RAB members were seen trying to stop on-lookers to make way for the firefighters. Most of the shanties were made of wood or bamboo with the roofs covered with polythene, which helped the fire spread quickly. A fire service official said, the residents are mostly low-wage earners, including garment workers, rickshaw-pullers, housemaids and day labourers. Many of the families went to their hometowns to celebrate Eid and were yet to return, a local said, the blaze destroyed everything as most of the shanties were locked from outside. The slum has three units and can accommodate around 1,000 families, locals said.
The authorities evacuated the workers and shut down the factories immediately after the fire started. Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam and local MP Elias Mollah visited the spot. He promised all kinds of assistance to rehabilitate the victims.
> Alma Siddiqua