The building had no permission to house restaurants: RAJUK

The building that suffered a deadly fire on Thursday night had no permission to accommodate any restaurants, says the Rajdhani Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), a public agency responsible for coordinating urban development in Dhaka.

Despite this, there were eight restaurants, a juice bar and a coffee shop in the building, in addition to a clothing shop and some electronics outlets.

The RAJUK said they granted approval for eight floors, with resident facilities only on the top floor.

Ashraful Islam, an urban planner and director of RAJUK’s detailed area plan (DAP) project, told Prothom Alo on Friday that the building had permission for housing commercial entities – only offices – up to the seventh floor. There was no permission to accommodate any restaurants, showrooms, or other facilities.

According to the Fire Service, there were two electronics shops, a juice bar, and a coffee shop on the ground floor. Except for a clothing shop on the second floor, all the floors were housing restaurants.

Brigadier General Main Uddin, director general of Fire Service and Civil Defense, said there were no fire safety arrangements in the building. They issued three letters to the building authorities with warnings about fire risks. But no step was taken in this regard.

At least 46 people died in the fire and 12 sustained injuries. Besides, some 75 people were rescued from the building.