A mobile court of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has sealed off a seven-storied building in Khilgaon’s Shahid Baki Road for operating restaurants without permits in a residential building. Photo: TBS

A mobile court of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has sealed off a seven-storied building in Khilgaon's Shahid Baki Road for operating restaurants without permits in a residential building. 

DSCC Executive Magistrate Md Jahangir Alam led the raid this morning (5 March) in the building housing Shawarma King and Pasta Club, among other restaurants. 

The mobile court had gone to the Shawarma King restaurant on the second floor of the building. But neither the owner nor the restaurant manager was present in the restaurant, and their mobile phones were unreachable, said the DSCC official.

The restaurant staff could not produce any relevant documents on fire safety either, he added. 

Then, the mobile court moved to the Pasta Club restaurant on the third floor of the same building, where the owner was absent, said.  

The Fire Service and Civil Defence then posted a banner in front of the building declaring it "extremely risky in terms of fire safety" in accordance with the Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Act of 2003. 

The mobile court later sealed off the entire building.

Besides Shawarma King and Pasta Club, each floor of the building housed a restaurant. There was also a clothing store on the ground floor and a restaurant under construction near the parking area.

"The building will remain sealed off due to fire safety risks until the owners present proper documentation. Further actions will be taken after they produce the documents," said Jahangir Alam.

According to local residents, most restaurants in the Khilgaon area remained closed from the morning, after receiving warnings from the DSCC. 

They alleged that 90% of restaurants in Khilgaon were established in residential buildings, causing the area to lose its residential characteristics, which is considered illegal under Rajuk's laws.

"After the Bailey Road fire, mobile court raids were conducted in various areas of Dhanmondi yesterday. Knowing in advance that Khilgaon would be targeted for today's raid, the business owners were prepared, resulting in no restaurants opening in the morning despite over a hundred restaurants on Shahid Baki Road," said Nazrul Islam, a resident of the area. 

Other restaurants on this street were also seen closed. The DSCC executive magistrate has said action will be taken against these closed restaurants.

Earlier on Monday (4 March), Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha's (Rajuk) zone inspectors raided restaurants in Khilgaon. They ordered the shutdown of nine restaurants in the Sky View Nazma Tower at 368/B Khilgaon and several others for lacking necessary permits, including construction permission, trade licenses, and fire service approval.

"Many buildings did not have the required documents, including approved designs for restaurant kitchens, leading to verbal orders to shut down these establishments," Rajuk Inspector Rakib Uddin said yesterday.

On the night of 29 February, a fire broke out in a seven-storey building located on Bailey Road, killing 46 people. The building housed multiple restaurants. 

The fire led to widespread discussion on the fire safety of several other such buildings located all across Dhaka, and mobile courts of DSCC and Rajuk are conducting raids in these buildings.

The mobile courts sealed off Gawsia Twin Peak in Dhanmondi's Sat Masjid Road and Keari Crescent in Jigatola yesterday.