DSCC seals off Dhanmondi’s Keari Crescent Tower

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has sealed off the 11-storey building named Keari Crescent Tower located in Dhanmondi of the capital due to fire safety risk.

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DSCC Executive Magistrate Md Jahangir Alam took this action while conducting a mobile court to inspect the irregularities in the restaurants on Satmasjid Road in Dhanmondi around 2:30pm on Monday.

The inspection revealed that ten restaurants in Keari Crescent Tower were closed, preventing access to nine of them.

During the visit, LNG gas cylinders were found stored insecurely in a restaurant kitchen, and additional cylinders were lying haphazardly in front of emergency exit stairs. The poorly constructed and unclean stairs posed a significant accident risk, as noted by fire service personnel present during the operation.

Fire service members also observed that there was no viable escape route in case of an accident, as the door to the roof was closed. The interior design of two visa processing offices on the 10th and 11th floors, featuring rooms made of glass and wood, was deemed more susceptible to fire.

Executive Magistrate Md Jahangir Alam ordered the arrest of three individuals from the 11th floor visa processing office, who claimed to be office workers. The detained workers were later fined Tk3 lakh, with the magistrate mentioning that the office owner would be responsible for paying the fine.

After the operation Md Jahangir Alam told reporters: “The fire service force that accompanied us in the operation said that there is not enough light and air circulation in this building. Gas cylinders are kept everywhere. Restaurants have also placed chairs on the stairs. We have spoken to DSCC. The building will be sealed.”

When asked how the restaurants located in the building got trade licenses, he said: “Since the restaurants are closed, it was not possible to find whether they have trade licenses or not. Besides, as no one was found in the building, it is not possible to know whether the building was built with a work permit."

The fire service put up a banner mentioning that the building was a fire hazard. Besides, the people inside were taken out.