Hope rekindled at DNCC Market

The work for stalls made of bamboo frames and tarpaulin was almost complete, this correspondent found during a visit yesterday, and traders were seen standing around with smiles on their faces. Workers hired by the Dhaka North City Corporation were busy building the stalls. Market Chairman Sher Mohammad said the construction of 291 shops were almost complete. “It has been a month since that disaster. I lost everything, so for a full month I had no income. I have borrowed some money to restart the business here,” shop owner Md Abu Salam said. “Now I am just counting down to the moment when the city corporation will hand me over a position,” he added. Wahidur, owner of the shop no 36 in the destroyed kitchen market, said: “I used to rent my position for Tk20,000 per month. But here in this makeshift market nobody will pay that sort of rent, so I am planning to start my own business.” Sher Mohammad said: “We are just waiting to take positions in the market and restart our businesses. “We have nothing to say about the reconstruction of the market. The city corporation and the mayor will decide about that.” The mayor will officially open the market next week, he said. A massive fire broke out in Gulshan 1 DNCC Market around 2:30am on January 3, completely destroying all the shops and later causing the second floor to collapse. Before the starting the construction of the stalls, the mayor assured the shop owners and traders that all those who had legally taken a shop from the DNCC and lost their outlets in the fire, would be allocated a stall.