Fire turns 'millionaire' Dhaka market traders into 'paupers' overnight

A massive fire that raged through the Gulshan DNCC Market for several hours has thrown some traders into poverty overnight.

They are now counting their losses and wailing in front of the market as they see their only means of living coming down to ashes because of the uncontrollable fire.

Fire services and other volunteers are still battling the fire that erupted around 2am on Tuesday and ripped through prominent mall in the capital’s posh Gulshan area.

Bewildered by the tragedy, many traders were seen weeping in front of the market in the morning.

While taking out whatever they could save, many of them shared their feelings on their situation with reporters.

“I was a millionaire yesterday and today I am a pauper,” said a trader, who owned several eateries in the market.

He said that his father had started the business in 1972 and three of his shops had been reduced to ashes.

Babar Ali, a sexagenarian, has lost his shop that housed carpets and pieces of clothes worth around Tk 2.5 million.

Bicycle trader Abu Yusuf, owner of shop no 101, said: “I cannot take out my goods due to smoke.”

Md Russel, 32, in tears, said that the fire had gutted the cosmetics shop that he had started by taking loans from friends and family 20 years back.

“I have admitted my only daughter to school this year. Now I do not even have the money to pay her school fees,” he noted in despair.

“No one is talking about compensating us although a number of well-known figures are visiting this spot,” said Russel.

Delwar Hossain, a toy shop owner, told bdnews24.com that he could not get a single item out of his shop. The father of three children was fearful about the uncertainty that lay ahead.

Shop owners rushed to the spot on hearing the news of the fire in the early hours of Tuesday.

They were seen collecting whatever had been left undamaged and storing the items in polythene sheets, cartons and boxes in the morning.

Eventually they shifted the goods via trucks and rickshaw vans as water sprayed by fire fighters flooded the road in front of the market and the parking area.

Those who could not manage transport had the goods piled up on the footpath.

One of them, Monsur, expressed discontent over the efficiency of the fire services.

“Had they been more prompt at night, the loss could have been minimised,” he said.

SM Talal Rizvi, Chairman of the DNCC Market Traders Council, claimed that the number of fire fighting units was less than required.

“I saw only two fire fighting units when I reached the spot around 2:30am. As a result, two of the markets were gutted fully. Two more units joined them around 4am. The loss could have been less if more units could come to the spot in time,” he told bdnews24.com.

“The DNCC market is comprised of one kitchen market and one mall. The fire erupted at the kitchen market. There are 605 shops in the two units,” said Rizvi, adding that the fire had caused a loss of around Tk1.5 billion.