The devastating fire that broke out at Gulshan-1 DNCC market on Saturday has gutted hundreds of shops and merchandises, leaving the shop owners, many of whom were uninsured, in dire straits.
The damage caused by the blaze is estimated at more than Tk100 crore.
Though no one was killed thanks to the quick response of the Fire Service, the fire managed to destroy the livelihoods of many shop owners and traders.
In January 2017, another massive fire tore through the DNCC market, causing an estimated damage of Tk500 to Tk600 crore.
More than two years after that devastating incident, at least 291 tin-shed shops in the kitchen market beside the DNCC (Dhaka North City Corporation) market in Gulshan 1 were completely gutted in a similar fire on Saturday morning.
Mohammad Hossain, owner of Hossain Baniyati store who has been running a grocery business in the market for 30 years, claimed that he had lost goods worth around Tk2 lakh in the fire.
“After the last fire, I managed to revive my business by selling my farmlands in the village and borrowing a large amount of money from relatives with interest,” he said.
“No bank wanted to lend me money. After the fire of 2017, many of the affected shop owners went to several insurance companies, but were rejected.”
Shirajul Islam, owner of two kitchenware shops, said: “I have suffered a loss of Tk20 lakh this time. In 2017, it was Tk70 lakh. Nonetheless, it is a hefty loss for me because, like many, I am still recovering from the previous loss.”
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Shirajul said he had attempted to get insurance several times, but failed to do so due to a land dispute between Dhaka North City Corporation and the shop owners’ association in the market.
“Most of the traders have been unable to get insurance, just like me,” he added.
“The insurance companies refuse to provide us with the service due to the ownership dispute over the land where the market was built. We accepted the fact, but we did not know a fire will raze us again,” said Abu Taleb Babul, Joint Secretary, DNCC Kitchen Market Traders Association.
“The holy month of Ramadan is approaching and it is the time for our biggest sales, when we usually earn a minimum of Tk20,000 to Tk30,000 per day,” he added.
According to the traders’ association, 291 shops in the kitchen market were completely gutted in Saturday's fire. The blaze also partially damaged 37 other makeshift stalls of various items, including household goods, fruits, baby food, imported food products, clothing and crockery.
However, some 80 shops were unaffected as those were relocated to a temporary shed after the 2017 fire.