Zahir Hossain, the security guard of a building next to the collapsed one in Dhaka’s Moghbazar, used to wear one facemask for protection against the coronavirus. Now he is using two, but they are not enough to stop the offensive smell emanating from the collapsed building hitting him.
Such was the foul smell that passers-by on Saturday covered their nose with their hands over the facemasks while walking past the building, reports bdnews24.com.
So, is a body rotting under the debris?
The residents of Outer Circular Road in the Wireless Gate area and the authorities don’t think so.
They believe the meat preserved in the fridges of a Bengal Meat outlet on the ground floor of the building is rotting.
As many as six people died on Jun 27 after parts of the three-storey building caved in following an explosion, believed to be from gas accumulated from leaks. Buses on the street outside the building were also damaged. Hundreds of commuters and pedestrians were injured.
Three others died in hospital later while the rescuers pulled the body of the building’s caretaker from the debris. No one else is reported missing, the police said. The Fire Service and Civil Defence also called off the rescue operation.
“We think the malodour is coming from the meat of Bengal Meat,” said Monirul Islam, the OC of Ramna Police Station.
The police have asked Dhaka South City Corporation and the Fire Service to remove the rubbles. The authorities said the building cannot be repaired.
Sarker Sumon, whose office is near the collapsed building, said the smell was becoming fouler by the day.
“The police have opened the alley, but it is difficult to move near the building.”
Asaduzzaman, an additional commissioner of the police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit, said it would take time to finish the investigation into the incident.
Brig Gen Sajjad Hossain, director general of the Fire Service, said they are 'certain' the explosion occurred due to gas. More information were needed to confirm the details, he said.
Mobarak Hossain, a director of the capital’s development authority Rajuk, said they have asked the owners of the collapsed building and the nearby ones to submit papers.
Glasses of more than a dozen nearby buildings were shattered in the impact of the blast.
One of them, opposite the collapsed building, was an Aarong outlet.
Aarong is now covering the front of the building with bricks instead of glasses.
Kamal Hossain, who is supervising the work, said 7,500 square feet of glass on the building was shattered.