November 26, 2025
DHAKA – When a massive fire broke out in Dhaka’s Korail slum this evening, 45-year-old Bokul Begum, who is physically disabled, was trapped in her small room. She had been lying on her bed — terrified and helpless — when the flames spread.
Hearing her cries, a boy aged 14-15 from a neighbouring room rushed in and managed to rescue her. He first put her in her wheelchair and then carefully pushed her to safety, despite the danger around him.
The fire started around 5:15pm. Firefighters deployed 16 units to the scene, but by 9:00pm, the fire was still not under control.
Bokul Begum has lived in Korail slum for nearly 26 years. Nine years ago, a tragic accident left her with a broken waist, and she has been unable to walk since, relying entirely on her wheelchair. She lives in the slum with her five sons and daughters.
“When the fire broke out, I panicked and started screaming. I didn’t know what to do… I could only cry out for help,” she told The Daily Star.
Bokul’s husband, Billal Hossain, abandoned them 17 years ago. At the time, all of her children were very young, and none could earn a living.
Bokul worked as a day labourer in Banani. While cutting down a tree, she suffered the accident that left her immobile.
Even after the accident, she did not give up. She raised her children while in a wheelchair, and married off her three daughters. Her two sons live nearby. During the fire, their homes were destroyed, leaving all of them affected.
“My husband left long ago, and I have been running the family on my own. Even now, I work to survive. Today, everything is gone in the fire,” she said.
More than a hundred families in the slum lost their homes in the fire. Suborna, one of Bokul’s daughters-in-law, told The Daily Star, “We were all at work. Every house has been destroyed. We couldn’t save any of our belongings.”
This correspondent noted that most homes in the slum are made of tin, bamboo, wood, and iron. One-, two-, and three-storey homes were all engulfed in flames. As the fire spread, electricity in the slum was cut off.
Most residents of the slum are garment workers, rickshaw pullers, hawkers, or day labourers. When the fire started in the evening, many were not home.
Locals tried to help firefighters by bringing water from the nearby canal to douse the flames.
Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director (operations) of the fire service, told reporters at 9:00pm, “Despite the difficult conditions, the fire service is working to control the fire. Flames are still burning in the northeast part of the slum. Initially, 16 units were deployed, and now around 20 units are working on the fire.”