320 Taka Kacchi: How a Plate of Biryani Cost 46 Lives

Two years after a deadly fire tore through Green Cozy Cottage on Bailey Road, a grim truth has finally been laid bare in a court chargesheet. According to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), at least 22 people, including restaurant owners and managers, stand accused of negligence so profound that it turned a building into a death trap. Among the most shocking allegations: staff at the popular restaurant Kacchi Bhai allegedly locked the main gate so customers could not leave without paying their bills.

Forty-six people died that night. Most did not perish from flames but from smoke inhalation, trapped and unable to escape. While desperate customers tried to flee for their lives, prosecutors say the priority inside Kacchi Bhai was protecting revenue. A plate of kacchi biryani costs around 320 taka. On that night in February 2024, many appear to have paid with their lives instead.

This is not merely a story of accidental tragedy. It is a story of systemic greed and criminal indifference. The eight-storey building was operating with almost no regard for safety. Restaurants ran without proper licenses. Stairways meant for escape were blocked with gas cylinders and stored goods. There was no functional ventilation system. Highly flammable materials adorned the interiors. Even the rooftop had been illegally converted into a duplex restaurant.

The fire began on the ground floor in a small coffee shop. Within minutes, it consumed the building. Yet instead of flinging open every exit, some staff reportedly chose to lock the gate at Kacchi Bhai, a place packed with customers drawn by a special "Leap Year" discount. The rooftop gate was also reportedly locked. In those final, terrifying moments, human life became secondary to unpaid bills.

This chargesheet is more than a legal document. It is an indictment of a culture in which regulatory oversight has collapsed and profit is placed above human dignity. Dhaka’s commercial buildings are filled with similar establishments operating in legal grey zones, with no fire exits, no emergency plans, and no accountability. The Bailey Road fire did not happen in isolation. It was the predictable outcome of years of ignored warnings and institutional neglect.

The accused have denied the charges. One restaurant owner claimed his staff tried to help people escape and even posted videos as proof. But the CID’s findings paint a different picture, one where fear of losing a few thousand taka outweighed the value of dozens of human lives.

Two years later, the victims’ families are still waiting for justice. The survivors carry trauma that no compensation can erase. And the rest of us are left asking uncomfortable questions: How many more "Kacchi Bhai" moments will it take before Dhaka’s restaurants and building owners are held to basic standards of humanity and safety?

The chargesheet against 22 individuals is a necessary first step. But real change will only come when negligence of this magnitude is treated not as an unfortunate accident, but as the moral and criminal outrage it truly is. Lives should never be valued at the price of a single meal, no matter how good the kacchi tastes.