A devastating fire at New Supermarket on Saturday shattered the dreams and hopes of hundreds of traders, leaving them in despair, as they lost everything just before Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.
The market saw almost as much business on Friday as it had during the entire month of Ramadan.
Many people who were planning to celebrate Eid outside Dhaka had set aside this day for shopping, and businessmen continued selling until 4am on Saturday, expecting a similar turnout the next day, a weekly holiday. Most of them left their cash at the shops and went home.
However, disaster struck soon after, as traders received phone calls from fellow business owners, their voices shaking and filled with panic, informing them that all their shops had been engulfed in flames.
Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka TribuneOn Saturday afternoon, Salauddin Mia, the owner of the store Big Boss, tearfully recounted the harrowing events at New Supermarket.
He said he has a shop on the second floor of the market.
Nine months ago, he rented the shop, and since then, the business had been going well.
On Friday, just a few days before Eid, there was a surge in sales. He left his cash at the store and went home, expecting sales to continue at a steady pace on Saturday.
“I had a short sleep after sehri and later received a call from a fellow shopkeeper who informed me that all of our shops were burned down,” said a devastated Salauddin.
He then rushed to the scene from his Kamrangirchar residence, only to witness his shop being consumed by the flames.
“I could not do anything but watch helplessly as the fire destroyed the goods I had purchased after taking out a loan. I hoped to repay the loan from Eid sales, but now everything is gone,” he lamented.
Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka TribuneNot only Salauddin, but three employees of Billal Hossain Baki Mia's factory – Parul, Kobita, and Lucky – were shedding tears over the loss of their stores.
They broke down on the New Market foot over-bridge around 12:30pm, as three stores of Billal Hossain, named Josna, Bihan and Shourov, selling shirts, pants and sarees, were all burned down. They could not salvage any goods.
Billal Hossain's factory employed 50 handicraftsmen and the stores employed an additional 20-25 staff members. Their families relied on the business for their livelihoods. The owner had planned to pay wages and bonuses to all employees on eve of Eid, but now, neither he nor his staff will be able to celebrate the festival.
Masum, the owner of shop number 258, and Ananta who had an eyeglasses store on the second floor burst into tears after witnessing their shops burn down.
Jasmine wept as her only son Jisan and younger brother Masum lost three stores and a warehouse in the market.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune“My son and brother had recently taken out loans from the market committee to stock their goods, but everything was destroyed in the fire. We do not have anything but the shops and we lost everything. What will we do now?” questioned a despaired Jasmine.
The shopkeepers in the market said there were more than 1,200 registered stores and around 250-300 makeshift shops in the market. Although traders were able to salvage some goods from the ground and the first floor, it was not possible to save anything from any shops on the second floor.
Fire Service and Civil Defense initially suspected that the blaze originated from the second floor. However, the extent of the financial damage caused by the fire could not be confirmed yet.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneFire Service received information about the fire on Saturday around 5:40am.
Immediately, 18 firefighting units reached the scene. Later, an additional 12 units joined them to tame the flames.
In total, 30 firefighting units worked to control the fire. After four hours of frantic effort, they announced that they had the fire under control at around 9:10am.
Firefighters broke in through the roof of the building in an effort to minimize the damage from the blaze.
Alongside the Fire Service and Civil Defense, members of the Border Guard Bangladesh, fire service, police, Rapid Action Battalion, army, air force and Dhaka Wasa's water-carrying vehicles participated in the firefighting operations.
At least 33 people were injured in the fire incident, including three fire service officers, 21 firefighters, two volunteers, five Ansar members, one scout, and one sergeant from the Air Force.
The fire was finally put out after around 27 hours on Sunday morning.