Devastating Fire Broke Out at Chalantika Slum in Dhaka

The huge fire turned thousands of the lower-income slum residents at Chalantika area of Mirpur homeless and left nothing for them other than burnt valuables, and despair. The blaze rendered thousands of slum dwellers homeless.

The dwellers just fled their homes with whatever they found at hand. More than 15,000 people were heavily affected and over 2,000 shanties of the slum were burnt in the fire. Many people were seen bursting into tears as their valuables were gutted in the fire. Many were trying to remove their valuables from the shanties.

Most of the shanties were made of wood, or bamboo, with the roofs covered with polythene which helped the fire spread quickly.

Most of the dwellers had travelled to their home towns or villages to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha and were yet to return. The blaze destroyed everything as most of the shanties were locked from outside.

“Thousands of families are now homeless and are in need of non-food items, such as mosquito nets, clothes for children, cooking materials, and more,” says Victor Boidya, Assistant Emergency Response Management Officer of ADRA Bangladesh.

ADRA Bangladesh has begun a needs assessment and preparing to start the relief aid services. The Emergency Response Management team of ADRA Bangladesh are in ceaseless communication with local authorities so they can run the operation flawlessly.