No hope for traders ahead of Eid

The shop owners of Dhaka New Super Market (South) are yet to restart their business although the surrounding markets resumed selling on Sunday after the fire broke out.

Also, there is an extreme uncertainty among the shop owners over the time to restart business as electricity lines have not been restored yet. However, they say that it will not be possible for them to resume business before Eid.

On Sunday afternoon, the entire market was completely dark. Electric wires were hanging in front of every shop and the third and second floors were damaged in the fire.

All the shops on the east side of the third floor have waterlogging issues. The water which was sprinkled by the fire service to put out the fire has mixed with burnt clothes and created a pile of junk along with half-burnt shop furniture. Some shop owners tried to clean their shops by removing the debris, but they failed due to waterlogging and darkness.

The shop owners and employees say that it is not possible to remove all the garbage that has accumulated after the fire. And the resumption of the electrical lines is also uncertain even after the cleaning. It is simply not possible to create a business environment on the third floor before Eid.

Besides, since the previous day was Friday, many people could not keep their earnings in the bank due to selling till midnight. They also didn’t take the cash home for obvious security reasons. So, the capital in their cash boxes burned along with the goods. The same situation is on the east side of the second floor.

Traders also face uncertainty as the stairs of the eastern side of the market and the only over-bridge connecting the opposite side of the road were destroyed during the incident.

On Sunday, two garbage trucks of the City Corporation were seen removing the debris of burnt clothes below the market. Law enforcement forces have been deployed in the entire market area. All gates of the market are closed except the gate near Chandrima Super Market on the north side.

Abdullah Al Mamun, the owner of a shop called Time Tex, vented out about the corporation and said, “They already know that the stairs of the over-bridge between the road and the market are dangerous, but they come to break it each year before Eid. I don’t understand what they do at other free times of the year. I am not saying that the fire has any connection with them but the question is from all of us. Where do we go after losing our business”?

Iqbal, the owner of Ma Collection on the third floor said, “I sold till 3:30 on Friday night. I thought it was a risk to take the Tk 2 lakh from the sale at night. So I kept it all in the shop. Also, there was another Tk 12 lakh worth of goods which has burned to ashes, leaving me with nothing. Business in this market will not start before Eid due to the environment and the way the electricity has been disconnected. Even if business resumes after Eid, there will be no profit because nothing will be sold.

However, the crowd of Eid shoppers is turning up since Sunday morning. The shops remain open. Sales have also started in all the markets, including Gawsia, Chandnichawk and New Super Market. Apart from this, makeshift shops also started their businesses. The whole area is buzzing with people.

To reopen the shops, the shopkeepers started cleaning debris from 9 am. In the afternoon, the markets drew a large crowd. Sales at makeshift shops set up on the footpaths have returned to the previous situation.