The High Court today directed the government to submit -- to the court by April 17 -- a list of the names of buildings in Old Dhaka where chemical godowns, stores, and factories are running.
The court also ordered the government's concerned authorities to submit a report on the progress of establishing permanent and temporary chemical sites in Munshiganj, Shyampur, and Tongi by the same deadline in response to a writ petition.
Writ petitioner's lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan told The Daily Star that 308 acres of land have been allotted in Munshiganj for a permanent chemical site, and six acres have been set aside each in Shyampur of Dhaka, and Tongi of Gazipur for the construction of temporary chemical sites in order to relocate existing chemical godowns and factories from the old part of Dhaka following the deadly fire in Churihatta in 2019.
However, she added, there has been no significant progress in establishing chemical sites.
The HC also issued a rule today, requesting that the authorities explain why they should not be directed to compensate the families of the victims of the Churihatta fire.
The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice SM Maniruzaaman came up with the directives and rule following the writ petition filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) seeking necessary directives from this court on the authorities.
Secretaries to the ministries of industries, environment and home, Dhaka south city corporation's mayor, Rajuk chairman, director general of fire service and civil defence, deputy commissioner of Dhaka and managing director of Dhaka Wasa have been made respondents to the directives and rule, lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan said.
