Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has claimed that the demolition work of the foot over-bridge nearby the New Supermarket area did not cause the devastating fire that gutted over 1,000 shops on Saturday.
In a press release on Saturday evening, the city corporation accused a vested group of spreading misinformation by attempting to link the two incidents.
The press release, signed by DSCC Public Relations Officer and Spokesperson Abu Naser, stated that misleading news related to this is being published in the media, which has come to the attention of the city corporation, prompting them to draw the attention of all concerned.
The press release stated that the pedestrian overpass connected to Dhaka New Market was declared risky by the DSCC last year. At that time, the bridge was closed, and a signboard was hung declaring it dangerous. However, people continued to use the bridge later, which was extremely unsafe.
On April 12, following the official procedure, a contractor was hired to disconnect the bridge from the market.
As part of the process, the connection between the bridge and the market's second floor was severed between 2am and 5am on Saturday.
The city corporation further mentioned that the disconnection work had been completed more than half an hour before the fire broke out, proving that there is no connection between the demolition work and the fire.
The DSCC has urged all parties, including business owners, to refrain from spreading baseless news and rumors during this challenging time.
Owners of shops at Dhaka's New Supermarket blamed Dhaka South City Corporation's construction work for the fire.
The fire started on the second floor of New Supermarket, and the members of the Border Guard Bangladesh, fire service, police, Rapid Action Battalion, army, air force and Dhaka Wasa's water-carrying vehicles were working on the spot.
Shop owners rushed to the market after hearing the news of the fire at dawn, trying to salvage as many goods as they could.
