A good number of businessmen, especially young entrepreneurs, have fallen into economic doldrums after a devastating fire razed through the cargo village of Dhaka airport on Saturday, burning goods worth crores of taka.
Many traders alleged that the blaze shattered their dreams. The fire service authorities initially barred them from entering the warehouse to help extinguish the blaze.
They also alleged that over Tk100 crore worth of goods, including garments accessories, aircraft parts, and chemicals, have been destroyed in the flames.
The fire-affected businessmen blamed poor management and negligence for the fire. They alleged that the warehouse stored goods, including mixed flammable pharmaceutical chemicals, three times more than its capacity. However, they sought compensation from the government authorities to resume their business.
“Our products worth several crore taka under LC were burned into ashes, and the authorities have not even contacted us,” said an importer, Mofizul Islam.
Another importer, Harunur Rashid, told TIMES of Bangladesh, “Over 100 cartons of electronic goods arrived on Friday. Everything is gutted now. None has reached out to us. We are ruined.”
“The fire dealt a massive blow to young entrepreneurs. On Friday, my garment threads worth Tk 14.5 crore arrived – everything has burned down,” said an entrepreneur, Foyezur Rahman.
“Who will compensate us? We are now in doldrums. None of our products were insured,” said Abdur Razzak, in charge of the Air Import.
Nizam Bhuiyan, in charge of forwarding import at the cargo village, TIMES of Bangladesh, “I’ve personally suffered losses of several crore taka. Small traders who relied on us have also been affected. The government must investigate whether this was an accident or sabotage.”
Biplob Hossain, a customs officer at Mamata Trading Company, said, “Seven shipments totalling 18 tonnes of electrical equipment arrived from Russia six days ago. Since the no objection certificate from Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission was delayed, the goods couldn’t be released. Everything is gutted.”
Mafizul Islam, a leader of Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BAFFA), vented his frustration, saying: “All our goods under LC are burned, and the authorities provided no clear information.”
He also said many small and medium traders are now facing financial doldrums, with no clear compensation plan in sight.
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire, but affected businesses are demanding immediate government intervention and accountability.
The inferno was brought under control on Saturday night, nearly seven hours after it spread to the cargo village after originating from the courier section in the airport. Flight operation resumed that night.
The blaze was completely put out on Sunday afternoon, official sources said. The blaze broke out at around 2:15pm on Saturday in the cargo village with 37 units of the fire service struggling to fight the fire.
No casualties were reported, but 25 members of different law enforcement agencies were injured during the firefighting operations.
However, no case has yet been filed in connection with the fire incident,” said Muhidul Islam, deputy commissioner (Uttara Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
