Staff Reporter:
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday bemoaned that there was no fire exit in the multi-storey building that caught fire on Bailey Road leaving dozens of people dead.
“The fire that broke out on Bailey Road, that is a multi-storey building, but there was no fire exit,” she said while addressing a programme marking “National Insurance Day-2024” at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital.
The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Finance and the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) aiming to promote the idea of insurance by enhancing public awareness.
Sheikh Hasina from the same programme also inaugurated the bankainsurence service that facilitated to provide premium of the insurance from the bank directly.
She urged all to follow the rules and regulations while constructing any building.
“We always request our architects, at least when they design houses or buildings, keep a small open balcony, a fire exit or a ventilation. But architects who want to build [buildings] do not design that properly and also the owners do not want to leave an inch of space.”
She said 45 people died in the Bailey Road fire incident. “What could be more painful than this.”
However, the prime minister said the government has repeatedly instructed to install fire extinguishers and take fire safety measures in all buildings, but that is hardly followed.
“And I know there was no insurance, so they [victims in the Bailey Road fire incident] will not get anything [as compensation]. Awareness is very much needed in these cases,” she said.
