Fire Service and Civil Defence director general Brigadier General Md Main Uddin has said there is still fire and smoke in the multistoried building named Annex Co adjacent to the Bang Bazar.
Some 12 units of fire service are working there to douse the fire.
Main Uddin disclosed this at a press conference at the headquarters of the Fire Service and Civil Defence on Wednesday.
Md Main Uddin said that clothes are stockpiled in warehouses on the fifth, sixth and seventh floors of the Annex Co building. Some 12 units of fire service are working there.
Earlier, the members of fire service brought the fire, which broke out at Banga Bazar on Tuesday morning, under control after six hours. The fire service referred to three barriers in bringing the fire under control. Due to these reasons it took so much time to bring the fire under control.
The traders said the Banga Bazar complex was comprised of four markets – Adarsha Hawkers Market, Mahanagari Market, Banga Bazar and Gulistan Market. There were more than 5,000 shops in the market. All the shops were burnt to ashes in the fire on Tuesday.
The Fire Service and Civil Defence authorities had declared the Banga Bazar complex risky in terms of fire safety four years earlier. The fire service also hung several banners in this regard at that time.
Everyone already knew that the complex was at high risk of fire. Despite that, the government or any other authorities concerned, including the shop owners, did not take any preventive measures.
Notably, there were at least three incidents of fire at the Banga Bazar before Tuesday’s incident. In 1995, an entire market was burnt down. There was a massive fire in 2018 as well.