Fire guts shanties in Dhaka

Insight Online News

Dhaka, Mar 14 : A massive fire tore through one of the largest slums in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, destroying at least 100 shanties.

Fire Service Headquarters Duty Officer Rashed Bin Khalid told journalists that the fire erupted at around 7:50 p.m. local time Monday and it soon engulfed an area with hundreds of shanties in the slum.
He said firefighting units rushed to the spot after receiving information and doused the fire at around 10:10 p.m. local time.

The slum, called Kunipara, in Dhaka’s Tejgaon industrial area, is home to many poor residents. According to the officer, at least 100 shanties made of scrap sheet iron, plastic and cardboard were destroyed fully or partially in the fire.

The official said they have not yet determined the exact cause of the blaze. No casualties have been reported.

Fires are common in Dhaka’s slums where hundreds of thousands of people are crammed in shacks along rails and waterways.

UNIINDIA / XINHUA