A good number of ready blankets and a considerable quantity of yarn were gutted by a devastating fire that broke out at a factory, owned by a ruling party lawmaker, in the capital's Lalbagh area Friday afternoon, firefighters said.
According to them, the flame originated from the blanket manufacturing unit of Kazla Woolen Mills Ltd, located near Dhaka Central Jail, at about 4:20 pm and soon engulfed the whole factory.
Additional Director of Fire Service and Civil Defence Rafiqul Islam confirmed the fire incident, saying that they managed to control the blaze after more than an hour of frantic efforts.
"Exact reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained. It will be confirmed after an investigation into the incident," he said adding that eight units of firemen were engaged in dousing the inferno.
Minutes after the incident, an additional number of fire-fighters were seen taking position around the boundary wall of the prison cell so that the blaze could not spread to the central jail.
"It should not be the right thing to say something in advance as it is a sensitive area. We need to conduct investigation before making any comment," he said adding that the authorities concerned should not allow any such units around a key establishment like the central jail.
Superviser of the blanket unit Delwar Hossain told the reporters that the fire took place when many workers were working inside the unit.
"Two of them fell sick because of suffocation. Valuables worth around Tk 200 million were completely gutted in the blaze," he said. Ruling party parliamentarian Waresat Hussain Belal Bir Protik of Netrokona-5 constituency had leased the unit, he added.
UNB adds: Security in and around the Dhaka Central Jail was beefed up following the fire incident.
Additional policemen were deployed around the jail to thwart any unpleasant incident.
When contacted, officer-in-charge of Chawkbazar Police Station Azizul Haque said three platoons of police had been deployed surrounding the central jail soon after the fire incident.
Besides, officers-in-charge of most of the police stations under the Lalbagh division rushed to the spot, he added.
Sources at the central jail said around 3-4 thousand prisoners from four wards -- Meghna, Padma, Medical and Monihar -- gathered in an open space inside the jail for safety soon after the fire.
High officials of the police and the prison visited the spot.
jubairfe1980@gmail.com
Fire at AL MP\\\'s factory in city
FE Report | Published: November 08, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like