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Incidents of fire on rise

SHAHIDUL ISLAM
When maxi driver Habib returned to his home at a shanty called Burma Colony after three days, it was too late.
A devastating fire had swept through the slum killing his mother, sister and three younger brothers the day before.
"For whom should I live now? The fire spells a doomsday to my life," sobbed 19-year old Habib.
Habibur Rahman had a misunderstanding over a trifling matter with his mother Hazera Begum. He left the house at city's Baizid Bostami thana on the night of March 7. He passed three nights outside home.
As his emotions subsided he returned to the house in the morning on March 10 and found nothing but devastation. He fainted and fell down within no time. His sweet
'little world' was over. The fatal fire at the dead of night took the lives of his mother, sister and brothers.
The misery of Habib apart, about 400 shanties were gutted. The incident rendered nearly 3000 people homeless at the Burma Colony on that nightmarish early morning. Seven people, including six from Habib's family, were roasted alive in the fire.
More than 150 shanties were gutted and 500 people made homeless in another incident of fire occurred within five days at Jute Colony in the city's Bakalia area.
Incidents of fire originated from different sources or man-made faults and vengeance or sheer destiny is on the rise taking severe toll over the poor people especially the slum-dwellers in Chittagong.
Over one thousand incidents of fire occurred between January 2002 to mid-March this year (2003) in the
port city and the Chittagong district, the statistics available from fire sources said.
About 25 thousand people were rendered homeless, property worth over Tk.45 crore gutted and at least 10 people burnt to death.
The beach town of Cox's Bazar was also not far behind in this regard. At least 1500 incidents of fire occurred, property worth Tk. 50 crore were damaged and 80 people killed at eight upazilas under Cox's Bazar in the last five years, sources said.
About 725 incidents of fire occurred and damaged property worth Tk. 30 crore in 2002, unofficial sources said
Of the fires, 248 originated from electrical fault or short circuits, 219 from lamp, 151 from kitchen oven, 62 from cigarette butt, 35 from revenge or vengeance and 13 from violence last year. The break up was
210, 200, 134, 60 and 26 respectively in the previous year. A total of 630 fire incidents occurred during that year (2001). However, there was no fire incident from violence.
Some incidents of fire in the city slums recently were outcome of vengeance and violence between crime lords and criminal groups over supremacy, sources said. Sources said the fire fighters in Chittagong had recovered properties worth Tk. 100 crore and Tk. 80 crore in 2002 and 2001 respectively.
Random filling of ponds and other water bodies around the city, unplanned construction of residential structures and shopping malls, obsolete and back-dated technologies of the authority and narrow roads and lanes mainly hinder fighting fire in Chittagong, sources said.