State Minister for the Ministry of Youth and Sports Aminul Haque has announced support for families affected by the devastating fire at the Baunia Beribadh area slum in Kalshi of Dhaka’s Mirpur.
He made the announcement after visiting the scene around 9:30pm on Monday, where he assured rehabilitation and overall assistance for the victims.
After the inspection, the minister said the fire spread rapidly due to dense housing, shops in the area and strong winds. He added that fire service personnel managed to bring the blaze under control.
He said a special fund of around Tk10 lakh has been allocated as immediate humanitarian assistance for families who lost everything in the fire. He also said steps would be taken for permanent rehabilitation of the homeless victims.
The minister further said the government was treating overnight shelter arrangements for the affected people with importance and assistance would continue until rehabilitation is completed.
He also raised suspicion of possible sabotage linked to the fire. According to him, a suspect was arrested based on a video circulating on social media, and police are investigating the matter.
He added that a recent eviction drive had taken place in the area and investigators were also examining whether there was any link between that operation and the fire. He said authorities had instructed preparation of a list of the affected families.
