Quader: Govt will fulfil all needs of Mirpur slum fire victims

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has said the ruling Awami League government will provide help to the Mirpur slum fire victims until all of their needs are met.

"Sheikh Hasina’s government will ensure that the Mirpur slum fire victimsare rehabilitated and new houses are constructed for them,"he said.

Quader said this during a distribution of relief materials and financial support to the victims of the fire incident at Chalantika slum in Dhaka's Mirpur 7 on Monday. 

Quader, also the minister for Roads, Transports and Bridges, asked the victims not to feel hopeless, saying that the fire incident as well as the currentdengue situationhave added a great deal of suffering tothe dwellers of this slum.

The minister also criticized BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakrul Islam Alamgir, saying that the BNP is now begging to foreign countries after failing to gainthe people’s trust.

He said: "BNP is a failed political party. They (BNP) have failed in court as well as on the streets.

"They could not even organize a movement to free their party leader."

"I am not here to give a speech but to help and provide rehabilitation to the fire victims,” he added.

On Saturday, BNP Secretary General MirzaFakhrul Islam Alamgir also urged thegovernment to rehabilitate the victims and provide them with compensation during a visit to the gutted slum. 

"Fire incidents in city slums have risen these days, hitting the destitute hard. A neutral probe body needs to be formed to look into the matter," he said.

On Friday, a massive fire broke out at a slum in Chalantika area of the capital’s Mirpur, burning more than a thousand shanties to ashes.