A temporary warehouse is being built at Shyampur in the city to store highly flammable chemicals by September this year . The combustibles will remain there until the 'chemical village' that is envisaged is ready, officials have said.
The Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) under the Ministry of Industries (MoI) is building the warehouse at a cost of Tk 886.74 million (Tk 88.674 crore).
But the move has drawn concerns from the merchants who had earlier requested the government to build sector-wise chemical warehouses instead of a common storage facility.
The initiative comes in the shocking sequel to the deadly fire incident that took place at Churihatta of Chawkbazar in the city on February 20 last. The haphazard piles of chemicals in densely-populated residential-cum-commercial area were behind the racy fire.
To avert recurrence, the government reiterated its commitment to relocating chemical warehouses from the city's residential areas to the 'chemical village' planned to be built at Keraniganj on the outskirts of Dhaka.
As the chemical warehouse zone is not ready, the MoI asked the BCIC to take immediate measures for readying chemical bases somewhere else in the capital for the time being.
When contacted, BCIC Chairman Md. Haiul Kuaium said they had simultaneously started conducting the soil test as well as the design and digital survey in the area.
The temporary warehouse would be built on 18 bighas of land with 52 sheds for storing the chemicals, he added.
The BCIC chairman said they would ensure safety and security on the site.
"Hopefully, we can make the temporary site ready by September this year," he added.
Chemical merchants, however, are not happy. They say the government should have built such warehouses close to areas where chemicals will be consumed.
If the warehouse is built at Shyampur, it will be difficult for the merchants to trade in the chemicals from there, traders point out.
Bangladesh Chemical Importers and Merchants Association Vice-president Md Shahidur Rahman Porag said the Shyampur warehouse could just multiply the woes of the traders instead of solving them .
In the recent meeting with the industries ministry, he said, they frequently requested the minister to go for sector-wise warehouse relocations.
They requested for relocation of leather warehouses to Hemayetpur; pharmaceutical warehouses to Bhaluka in Mymensingh; and textile warehouses to Ashulia.
"Then it makes sense. But what we see is the ministry hurriedly implementing the project without paying any attention to our worries," he said with frustration in his voice.
Mr Porag said he is trading in chemicals for the leather industry while the tanneries are located at Hemayetpur of Savar.
"So, once the warehouse is built, I'll have to shuttle between Hemayetpur and Shyampur. It will increase the sufferings and costs. If it is built at Hemayetpur, things will be much easier," he said.
Only 29 out of nearly 400 chemicals are highly flammable. "Problems cannot be resolved in a way that causes a fresh problem," he added.
