According to the Fire Service and Civil Defense, fires started by burning lanterns have been recorded in a number of Dhaka neighborhoods, including Dhanmondi and Mirpur, as the new Gregorian year begins. Rafi Al Farooq, the Fire Service Control Room duty officer, verified the information early on Wednesday, January 1, at about 1:30 AM.
He claimed people when he said that at 12:53 AM, there was a complaint of a fire at the Shwapno Super Shop next to LabAid Hospital in Dhanmondi, which was started by a light dropping on trash. Concerned by the smoke, the locals alerted the fire department. But before the fire departments arrived on the site, the fire was put out.
Rafi Al Farooq said that at 12:37 AM, there was another complaint of a fire in the trash at an a bin in the Mirpur 11 neighborhood. On the way to the scene, two fire department units were informed that the fire had already been suppressed.
Residents of Dhaka once again defied the law by lighting lanterns and fireworks as soon as midnight arrived, in violation of a police prohibition. Firecracker booms reverberated when fireworks filled the sky over Dhaka. Even though it seemed like there were less lanterns this year, the celebration went on despite the limitations.
Source: RTV
