At least 100 shanties were gutted in a fire that broke out in a slum at Mohammadpur in the capital early Thursday.
Two people - Nur Nahar Akhter Ripa, 19, and Sujon Ahmed – were injured in the incident.
“The fire broke out around 4:25am at Chan Miah slum,” Fire Service control room Duty Officer Palash Chandra Madak told the Dhaka Tribune.
On information, 14 fire fighting units rushed to the spot and doused the blaze at 5:23am, he said.
“The fire originated from a bamboo-made rooftop of a three-storied make-shift house,” Md Hasan, brother-in-law of injured Ripa, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Chan Miah, one of the slum dwellers, alleged that it was a planned sabotage to oust them from the area.
Ruling Awami League lawmaker Jahangir Kabir Nanak visited the spot early in the morning.
When asked, he ruled out the slum dwellers’ allegation, saying: “People usually say many things in such a situation.”
Fire service and police would investigate the matter, he added.
When contacted, Ward Commissioner Tarekuzzaman Rajib said the injured people had been given medical supports and the affected slam dwellers had been advised to stay the night at Banshbari primary school.
“We have already contacted with the government authority with a list of 221 raged shanties,” he said.
Dhaka district administration will provide 30kg rice and Tk3,000 as aid to the each affected family, the ward commissioner said.
Hundreds of shanties of several slums in Dhaka including Karail and Sattola have been destroyed in mysterious fire incidents in the last few months.
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