Members of Churihatta Ekota Sangha, an organisation of old Dhaka, holding a vigil near the charred buildings at Chawkbazar to mourn the deaths of the fire victims on Monday, calling for immediate removal of chemical storage from the area — FE photo by Shafiqul Alam 
The government has decided to relocate chemical warehouses and godowns from Old Dhaka within the next six months, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said on Monday.
"We have decided to shift the chemical godowns from the capital to other places outside the city within the next six months."
He said these after a meeting on finding out ways to relocate the chemical godowns from the capital's old part after the deadly fire incident at Chawkbazar on February 20.
The businessmen concerned have assured the government to help relocate the chemical godowns from the capital to other places outside Dhaka, he told media.
"There will be no chemical godowns in the residential areas of the capital."
The minister further said the government will review and coordinate all the suggestions given by the businessmen and the stakeholders at Monday's meeting regarding the planned relocation.
He requested all not to involve in blame-game, but to come forward for resolving the problem together.
State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder said the businessmen can sell chemicals from their existing trading shops (in Old Dhaka). But they must keep the chemicals in the planned godowns (outside the capital).
He said apart from relocating the chemical godowns outside the capital, the government will also provide plots to plastic products manufacturing units at the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) industrial estate.
The state minister alleged that a section of government officials helped to renew chemical goods trading licenses without conducting practical inquiry.
He called upon all the departments concerned to work sincerely and honestly for benefits of the people and the country.
Industries Secretary (in-charge) Md Abdul Halim said the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), departments of explosives, environment and Fire Service and Civil Defense (FSCD) and other agencies concerned started relocating chemical godowns on ad-interim basis.
He said the government has urged the deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka to find out appropriate places for relocating the chemical godowns.
The secretary opined that initially, chemicals, which are used in the leather sector, can be shifted to a place near Savar Tannery Park.
The probable places for relocation of chemical godowns can be Keraniganj or Nawabganj or somewhere else like these.
Representatives of different government agencies, including environment department, FSCD, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), and Bangladesh Chemical Importers and Merchants Association, among others, were present.
Meanwhile, DSCC Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon on Monday said all chemical inventories from the capital's residential areas will be (temporarily) shifted within a month.
After a meeting with the stakeholders following the deadly fire incident, the DSCC mayor said a special drive in this regard will be started from February 28 that will continue until April 1.
Mr. Khokon said they have identified some 15 wards as the most vulnerable as far as presence of chemical inventories is concerned.
"We will conduct the drive in two or three wards altogether. We'll make Old Dhaka free from deadly chemicals by April 1," he added.
To execute the decision taken at the meeting, the DSCC will form two separate taskforces. The first one, involving high-ups of the relevant state-agencies, will make plan and give directives, while the other will implement the first committee's decision in the field level.
Calling upon the chiefs of the utility service providing agencies, the mayor asked them to disconnect power, gas, water and telephone connections, if dangerous chemicals are found in any house or business outlet (in Old Dhaka).
Lawmaker Haji Selim, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Javed Patwari, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, FSCD Director General Brigadier General Ali Ahmed Khan, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) Chairman Abdur Rahman, and Managing Director of Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) Taksim A Khan, among others, were present at the meeting.
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