Traders demand new building, Railway bogged down

“I did not imagine that the fire would come to this market from Bangabazar. Our market was reduced to ashes. Goods worth Tk70-80 lakh were burned at my shop. Who knew that I would face such a big loss?”

This is how Muslim Mia, a cloth wholesaler at the Mahanagar Shopping Complex, expressed his anguish.

His shop, Prime Exclusive, sells children's t-shirts. He has been doing business at the market for 11 years. The fire incident that engulfed the decade-old Bangabazar on April 4 last year is still fresh in Muslim Mia’s mind. He says he can never forget the devastation that it caused.

“The traders and employees of the adjacent market got financial support; we didn't get that either. The city corporation gave the affected traders 14kgs of rice and lentils. But that’s it. I got nothing else from anybody. The deputy commissioner gave Tk25,000 to each trader, but we didn't get that either. I restarted my business by borrowing money. It would be better if the government built a proper market this time,” he told Bangla Tribune.

Four other markets adjacent to Bangabazar also burned down, and at least 600 shops at the Mahanagar Shopping Complex were damaged in the fire.

In the past year, all the other markets that were damaged in the fire managed to make a turnaround. But the story of the Mahanagar Shopping Complex is different.

There is preparation for building a permanent structure for the traders of the market on the land. In the meantime, work on building a permanent market for the traders of Bangabazar Shopping Complex has begun.

There is still uncertainty among the traders over their fate. They have been demanding rehabilitation and construction of a permanent infrastructure on the land where their tin-roof market once stood. But there has been no progress.

Visiting the market on May 21, this correspondent saw that some traders had erected temporary stalls on the spot where the market once stood. It was their last attempt to make a living after the fire took everything from their lives. But the losses are still haunting them.

Rezaul Karim Nahian, a trader on the ground floor of the market, was also affected. He used to sell t-shirts.

“I have been doing business for 15 years. After years of working day and night, I had built the business. But everything was burned in the fire,” he said.

There is no business in the temporary stalls, he complained.

Another businessman, Mohammad Shafi Uddin, said: “I have been doing business here since 2010. My shop had goods worth Tk20 lakh. I still have credit of over Tk13 lakh. Business is also not going well. The condition of the shops is poor, and customers do not come here.”

Sohag Ali, manager of Green Point on the ground floor of the market, said: “If there is another fire, it will all be over for us.”

Mehdi Murad, owner of Bismillah Ladies Tops, said: "All of us were affected. My shop was in the Bangabazar Shopping Complex. I have come here now to restart my business. We will be able to do good business if the market is constructed anew.”

Abdur Rahman, Chairman of Business Associates Limited of Mahanagar Shopping Complex, said that all the shops were burned to ashes. Some 600 shop owners have been affected. After the fire, many people are doing new, makeshift business by having paper and polythene placed on bamboo poles.

He said the land of the Mahanagar Shopping Complex belongs to Bangladesh Railway. The market was built on a lease.

“We have been in contact with the railways for 10 years for the infrastructural development of the market. They have been delaying it for years, citing legal issues. We demand the rehabilitation of the traders through the construction of a new building here,” Abdur Rahman said.

Bangladesh Railway Director General (DG) Sardar Shahadat Ali said: "To my knowledge, when the market was built, it was said to be a one-story structure. Now businessmen are talking about building a new multi-storey infrastructure. They came to us with an application. But I asked them to rewrite it and then submit it. I will talk to the minister when I get the application. Action will be taken as per his instructions and the Railways Act.”