Noise Complaints and Safety Concerns Mark New Year’s Eve in Bangladesh
On New Year’s Eve, the National Emergency Service number 999 received 1,185 calls related to noise pollution across Bangladesh. These calls reported loud music, celebrations, and fireworks during the New Year celebrations. Among the complaints, 387 were from Dhaka Metropolitan Area, while 798 originated from other parts of the country. This information was provided on Wednesday (January 1) by Anwar Sattar, Media and Public Relations Officer of the National Emergency Service 999.
In 2021, lanterns released during New Year’s Eve caused fires at around ten locations in Dhaka. To prevent a recurrence of such incidents, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) imposed a ban on the release of lanterns and fireworks this year. However, in defiance of the ban, fireworks led to separate incidents in which five people, including a child, sustained burn injuries in Dhaka.
The injured individuals—Farhan (8), Sifan Mallik (12), Sumaat (20), Sentu (45), and Tafsir (3)—were brought to the emergency department of the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute late on Tuesday night (December 31). Additionally, a fire caused by a lantern occurred near the Shwapno Shopping Mall adjacent to LabAid in Dhanmondi. While a firefighting team from Mohammadpur Fire Station was dispatched after receiving the alert from 999, local residents had extinguished the fire before their arrival. No damages were reported in this incident.
It is worth noting that the National Emergency Service helpline 999 operates 24/7 to assist citizens in accessing police, fire, and other emergency services. Established on December 12, 2017, by the ICT Division, the service was later handed over to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
