Fire erupts at Dhaka's Karhail slum

Published : 04 Dec 2016, 21:06

Jagoroniya Desk

A fire has raged through Dhaka’s Karhail slum leaving hundreds of shanties gutted and many slum dwellers homeless. There was no report of casualties, according to the last report we received.

Smoke was first seen billowing out of the slum, north of the BRAC Centre, at the capital's Mohakhali around 2:30 pm on Sunday.

It took 14 fire-fighting units almost two hours to put out the flames, said fire service spokesperson. This was the second such fire in the slum in nine months.

“The flames left over 500 hundreds shanties completely gutted. Over 1,000 people used to live in those ravaged thatched houses” said local Councillor Mafizur Rahman said.

Quoting locals, he said that the fire started from a shop inside the slum.

However, the fire-service is yet to ascertain the cause or assess the damages. No casualties have been reported so far.

Dhaka North Mayor Annisul Huq has visited the scene, said the councillor. "He has instructed to arrange food for the victims," he added. 

The sprawling Karhail slum, located across posh Gulshan area and divided by the Lake, has over 150 acres of land which is the largest in Dhaka city. 

The BTCL, the owner of land, failed to vacate the land with a number of eviction attempts in previous years. 

In March this year, a fire in this slum left several people injured and 50 shanties completely burnt.

Source: bdnews24

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