Two ministers on Thursday announced that the government will bear the medical costs of and provide full assistance to the families of the victims of the Chawkbazar fire tragedy.
At least 67 people were killed in a massive fire that engulfed several multi-storey buildings at Nanda Kumar Lane, in Chawkbazar’s Churihatta area of Old Dhaka on Wednesday night
While inspecting the damaged area around 10:30am, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told reporters that the government will provide full assistance to all the injured and the families of the deceased.
“Until the injured and family members of the deceased are rehabilitated, the government will provide them will full assistance.
“We will obviously investigate the cause of the fire. We do not know yet whether the gas cylinder explosion that allegedly triggered the fire was from a car or a home.”
Quader also pointed out that the fire probably spread so quickly because of the presence of chemical compounds stored inside the buildings.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday also said that the government will bear all costs required for the treatment of those injured in the devastating fire.
"All hospitals must be prepared to take in the burn victims," he said, while talking to reporters after paying his homage to the 1952 Language Movement martyrs at the Central Shaheed Minar in Sylhet in the morning.
For the time being, the official leaves of all doctors in Dhaka have also been cancelled, the minister added.
After the fire started around 10:35pm on Wednesday, it took 37 fire-fighting units from 13 stations for 15 hours before completely dousing the flames.
Among the recovered dead bodies, so far 39 have been identified and 12 of them handed over to their families, according to the inspector general of police.
