A deadly blaze has killed dozens of people in the historic district of Chawkbazar in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. But as BBC Bengali’s Rakib Hasnet reports, it’s not the first time the area has seen tragedy.

It was on the banks of the Buriganga River during the Mughal dynasty, some 300 years ago that Chawkbazar was established. And it quickly became the main business hub of Dhaka.

Even until just a few decades ago Chawkbazar, inside Old Dhaka, had earned a reputation as the heart of the city.

As Dhaka grew bigger and bigger becoming a sprawling urban metropolis, Chawkbazar’s importance diminished as a commercial hub, but it still remains popular.

Today, Chawkbazar is a hub of chemical businesses, local perfume factories and plastic products.

After a deadly fire in 2010 killed 120 people in another part of Old Dhaka, authorities banned the factories and the storage of chemical goods in residential buildings.

However, ignoring the directions many residential buildings are still used for commercial purposes, with ground floors serving as chemical, gas cylinder and plastic product warehouses.

The area itself is full of lanes so narrow that even passenger buses cannot go through. The streets are packed with rickshaws, small cars and people walking around during the day.

Restaurants and different types of shops also fill up the densely-populated part of the city.

During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Chawkbazar which is popular for various types of traditional food, turns into the main place for Iftar items – the meal which breaks the daily fast.

Thousands of food vendors peddle their goods on its streets, often filled with people waiting to get their fill of kebabs and different types of Biriyani – a popular rice dish.

They compete for space with the hundreds of electrical, telephone and internet cables that hang on to its narrow lanes, posing another danger for the local people in Chawkbazar.

Source: Read Full Article