Plastic purge decision reversed in Old Dhaka hit by fatal Chawkbazar fire

The authorities have dropped raw plastic and plastic goods off the target of the ongoing operations to remove warehouses of chemicals and flammables from Old Dhaka after the devastating Chawkbazar fire.

The Department of Explosives has declared raw plastic materials and organic pigments as nonhazardous flammables, according to Dhaka South Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon.

The city corporation dropped the materials from the purview of the taskforce formed to free Old Dhaka from the warehouses that had caused deadly fires, he told a meeting organised by Bangladesh Plastic Traders Association.

The plastic warehouses and shops, however, must keep fire extinguisher, water and sand at hand, he added.

Raw plastic materials had been stored at Wahed Mansion, the building that suffered most damage in the Chawkbazar fire in the night of Feb 21.

At least 71 people have died in the fire for which the chemical warehouses in the buildings have been blamed. 

Traders, however, have protested against drives to remove the warehouses of flammables from the densely populated area.

bdnews24.com asked the mayor whether dropping plastic from the scope of the task force’s operation is a sign that the city corporation was going soft.

“We can’t bring these under the task force’s purview as the explosives department has said that these are not dangerous. General people will be harassed if we do so,” he said.

The task force will continue drives against chemical factories and warehouses, he added.