More than 500 family’s have nothing but the clothes they wear in the sattala slum.
A terrible fire broke out in the sattala slum in the capital’s Mohakhali. After receiving the report of the fire at 3:40 am on Wednesday, 8 units of the fire service tried for two hours to bring the fire under control. Although no one was injured in the incident, most of the houses in the slum were burnt to ashes. More than 500 families have nothing but the clothes they wear. They are now living an extremely inhuman life under the open sky.
The slum dwellers alleged that the fire started from a transformer located on an electric pillar at the entrance of the slum. Although there was an electrical disturbance in this transformer from time to time, no proper remedy was found for it. As a result, this transformer exploded and a fire broke out in a scrap shop. And from there, the fire spread to the entire slum.
Nilufa Begum, a garment worker and resident of the sattala slum who lost her home in the fire, lamented, “I have worked so hard to build everything in my family. My husband drives a rickshaw. We both work so hard to do all this. Everything was destroyed in one night of fire. We could not save anything.” I left my house with only one cloth, I couldn’t even save the clothes I was wearing. The fridge, rack, two wardrobes, cupboards are all gone. There is nothing. I have been struggling to do the whole month’s shopping. They are also gone. Not only Nilufa, such cries are heard by almost every family that has lost its house in the fire. The residents of the slum are going crazy after losing their hard-earned wealth.
Another resident of the slum named Salma Begum said that on Tuesday night at around 3:15 am, a transformer exploded and a fire broke out in a scrap shop downstairs. It spread to the entire slum in an instant. Another room was built above my house. Everything in these two rooms has been burnt to ashes. The family that had been built for almost 18 years is over in the blink of an eye.
Pratibha Sardar, a ninth-grade student, lived with her parents in this slum. She said, there are no books or notebooks. A few days ago, her father borrowed a few thousand taka and bought books. Everything is gone. The government also gave her some books. But now where will I buy books again? How will I study?
Bashir Ahmed, an elderly resident of the slum, has taken shelter with his family by hanging a bed sheet next to the slum. Despite everyone’s efforts, the fire could not be controlled. The TV, fridge, cot, cupboard and cash were all burnt to ashes. Nothing could be found. Now, he is not even sure where to stay.
Yesterday afternoon, several volunteers were seen arriving with relief from the Disaster Management Department. Russell, a volunteer from the neighboring area, said, the relief was sent by the Disaster Management Department. We are bringing it from the road and distributing it here. According to their estimates, 300 families lived in the slum.
Fire Service Media Cell Officer Khairul Islam Roni said, the slum fire was brought under control after about two hours of effort. Although no one was injured, most of the slum houses were burnt to ashes. The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage will be known after the investigation.
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