Restaurants Face A Bad Spell

Fire killed people in posh neighborhood Triggering govt's anti-restaurant mood.

Dhaka restaurant business is going through a bad spell. The February 29 fire incident at Bailey Road not only claimed 46 lives but started a long campaign against the restaurants that employ around 100.000 people across Bangladesh. Dhaka restaurants are under the scanner of the government. Graveyard silence fell on Bailey road ,which housed more restaurants and would usually be busy in this time of year if the place were not struck by that fire incident on that February 29 night. What prompted the authority to embark on this drive against the Dhaka restaurants is the number and identity of victims: 3 engineering students (among them one identified as the daughter of a senior police officer),2 journalists, daughter of a garment factory owner who is pursuing her studies abroad, an Italian Bangladeshi and four members of his family who are about to go to Italy, one School teacher and her daughter and many more who could not make it to the news headline.

The restaurant where the tragedy struck is located 2nd floor of a 5-storey building that was meant to be occupied by commercial offices. But restaurants and clothing outlet substituted the offices from the basement to the top floor of the building, which received warning notice from the fire department for not taking enough measures against fire. Even the architect was compelled to object gross violation of building code at his creations to the proper authority.

In Dhanmondi, one of the posh areas of Dhaka, a state-of-the art building is being occupied by high-end restaurants leaving in the dark the very architect who designed it for offices. Like the Bailey road building, gas cylinders of the restaurants are being kept on every floor of the building that does not even have a proper fire exit in case of emergency situation.

Authorities’ concerns about safety and building code violation following the tragedy are genuine. But the way they responded to such tragedy calls into question their objective and commitment to enforce building code. It is not the task of the authority to spread further panic and to harm an industry that is creating decent jobs and filling government coffer with VAT money. Authority is supposed to aware the consumers about potential dangers of visiting such restaurants instead of starting a panic spree.

The subsequent driving incident could be aptly called incoherent policies of the respective authorities. Right before their eyes these restaurants popped up on every floor of commercial buildings across Dhaka. They remained mum back then. When one fatal incident surfaced and created storm into tea cups ,they become hyperactive and literally put an end to the restaurant business in the time of austerity.

Origin of the fire and scale of devastation require proper scrutiny. Vital question like is it an accident or a deliberate attack? needs to be answered. Before the probe coming up with convincing findings, drawing a definitive conclusion may complicate further the problem. Last year, on the eve of Eid, we witnessed how several of Dhaka's markets were ravaged by mysterious fire. In Bangladesh, we see frequent fire incidents like the retributive fire attacks in Mexico, Philippines and other countries where organized criminal groups hold sway over society and economy. It is highly indicative of a country that sees introduction of undocumented money into the economy and gradual decline of power of law enforcement agencies. Like many other previous incidents In the case of Bailey road, we read how the fire spread at unprecedented pace and plumes of smokes consumed the victims, giving them no time to think about alternatives. Restaurant business is not flawless. I often wonder how these restaurants thrive when the middle class is loosing its purchasing power and sees opportunities shrink everyday. What is puzzling is that Banani-11 street model has been being replicated across Dhaka for the last couple of years. NBR could tell how much VAT they gave to the govt. Apart from that ,the high-end restaurants created some good jobs. Their frequent occupation of commercial floors lays bare the fact that real estate sector has so many unrented commercial spaces. This means businesses are having a tough time. Similarly, speculation like money laundering behind the smokescreen of restaurant business cannot be ruled out. Especially when govt allows investment of undocumented money in the real-estate sector and more and more restaurants occupy office spaces of a building. Putting aside the issue of occupancy certificate, Govt probe should focus on whether they are engaged in money laundering activity or not. Money laundering accusation is labelled against many people often on purely harassing purposes but its genuine sources are never being investigated by the authority. This is another example of biased use of law.

However, it is also not right to harass the restaurant owners during the fasting month of Ramzan when the business in general sees a low revenue. More documentation, origin of the capital invested and a sustained campaign among restaurateurs and consumers may discourage owners from renting an office space. Arbitrary fining of the restaurants and shutting them down are only hurting the govt that is keen to create more jobs in the next few years. Let deep thought and sanity prevail over reactionary stance.