Govt agencies pouncing like hyenas in aftermath of Bailey Road fire: Restaurant owners

The Restaurant Owners Association has described the drives by government agencies at various restaurants across Dhaka following the loss of life in the fire at Green Cozy Cottage on Dhaka’s Bailey Road as ‘harassment’.

Imran Hassan, the association’s general secretary, says, “At this moment, in the name of raids, they are causing chaos across Dhaka city. Today [Tuesday] they closed a restaurant called Nawabi Voj. But the restaurant has the necessary licences from 12 government agencies.”

“The city corporations, RAJUK [the capital development authority], and other government agencies are now harassing every restaurant in the city. The amount of harassment we have faced would not be possible in any civilised country. I would say they are pouncing on us like hyenas.”

Hassan made the statement from the association’s main offices at the Al-Raji Complex in Dhaka’s Purana Paltan.

So far, 42 restaurants have been closed in raids in Dhaka, he said.

“Now they say we need licences for gas cylinders as well. Did we make the cylinders? We bought them from the market.”

“Are those who sold us the cylinders selling them without licences? How many more licences must we show?”

Forty-six people were killed when a fire broke out at the Green Cozy Cottage building on Bailey Road on Thursday. Though the building was approved for commercial use, it did not have permission to lease space for restaurants. Nevertheless, 14 restaurants and food stores were housed in the building.

The building did not have a fire exit and gas cylinders and restaurant inventory clogged up the building’s only stairway. Most of the victims of the disaster died of smoke inhalation because they were not able to get out from the upper floors of the building.

Following the tragedy, the issue of restaurants being set up in unsafe buildings in Dhanmondi, Khilgaon, Mirpur and other parts of the capital became a hot topic. In the face of public criticism, RAJUK, the city corporations, police and RAB launched their own drives.

The raids are closing restaurants set up in residential buildings. The raids have also led to arrests and fines in some areas.

On Monday, RAJUK led a raid on the Gawsia Twin Peak building on Dhanmondi’s Satmasjid Road and closed all the restaurants in the building.

The Dhaka South City Corporation closed the Keari Crescent Tower in Jigatola for housing illegal restaurants in space allocated for commercial offices.

A RAJUK mobile court conducted a raid in Dhaka’s Bailey Road on Tuesday and closed the Nawabi Voj restaurant in the AQI Shopping Mall.

The DSCC also closed a multi-storey building called ‘Nightingale Skyview’ in the Khilgaon area. All but one storey in the building was occupied by restaurants.

Restaurant owners have proposed the formation of a taskforce to be set up to manage the restaurant business in a proper manner instead of what they described as ‘sloppy’ mass closures.

Association leader Imran said, “An effective task force should be formed to resolve these current issues in the next three to six months and bring all the restaurants under the compliance of specific guidelines. This task force should have people from all the relevant ministries and departments of the government. The task force will consist of people from the Restaurant Owners’ Association, experts from FBCCI and BUET if necessary.”