Bangabazar Shopping Complex burns to ashes

Staff Reporter :
The massive fire that broke out at the Bangabazar Shopping Complex, a popular clothing market in Dhaka, has been brought under control after more than six hours of frantic efforts.
The blaze was reported at 6:10 am, said Rafi Al Farul, duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defense control room.
Fifty fire service units, with support from the army and the air force, were able to bring the fire under control at 12:36 pm.
A helicopter of Bangladesh Air Force had joined the firefighting effort. The chopper sprayed water on the blaze to extinguish it.
Anwarul Islam, another fire service official, said they had no idea how the fire originated. “We have no immediate reports of any casualties,” he added.
 But shop owners and fire officials told reporters the Bangabazar market and three adjacent commercial precincts had been almost completely gutted in the fire.
 “Some 600 firefighters worked to bring the fire under control,” fire department spokesman Rakibul Islam told the media.
BGB and RAB personnel also worked with the firefighters.
Meanwhile, distraught shop owners in Bangabazar Market told reporters the blaze had left them destitute weeks before Eid-ul- Fitr. They had been hoping for good business ahead of Eid.
Around 3500 shops made of tin and wood were completely gutted in the fire, said Bangabazar Shop Owners Association Office Secretary BM Habib.
“The market had readymade garment products worth hundreds of crores of taka. Most of the shops had extra stocks as Eid is little more than two weeks away,” Habib said while talking to reporters.
“I have two shops in the market. I am unable to describe the massive loss all of us are incurring. RMG products worth hundreds of crores of taka are now just ashes.”
“I borrowed Tk 15 lakh to buy Eid clothing,” one shop owner said. “I have lost everything.”
Shop owner Akter Hossain and two of his staff were seen trying to bring out stocks of clothing from their burning shop while onlookers stopped them from going near the fire.
“I just invested around Tk 10 lakh to stock new clothes ahead of Eid. All of those have turned into ashes. How will I ever recover from the loss?” a wailing Hossain told reporters.
Bangabazar, managed by the Dhaka South City Corporation, has a long history of fire hazards. According to official data, there were at least six small to medium fire incidents in the market in the past decade.
“The fire this time however is massive,” said BM Habib. “It reminds me of a fire in 1995 in which the whole market was burnt down.” He also expressed doubts that the latest fire in Bangabazar could be a planned sabotage.
Habib complained that it could be an incident of arson or vandalism to clear the land.
“For a long time, a group has been trying to do this. There were carbon dioxide gas cylinders inside the market to control the fire. But it could not be used as it was morning,” he said.
On the other hand, traders are fearing a loss of thousands of crores of taka due to the fire.
They said that at least six markets caught fire. All markets have small shops.
Owner of Rashed Bedding Shop in Bangabazar’s Annexco Tower, Md Jockey said that there are 8,000 shops on two floors in the Bangabazar wood market alone.
“That market is completely burnt,” he added.
Meanwhile, at least eight people, including two members of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, were injured while working to control the massive fire.
The injured are Rabiul Islam Antor, 30, Atiqul Rahman Rajon, 35, Niloy, 35, Shahin, 40, Ripon, 40, Rubel, 32, Dulal Mia, 60, Mehedi Hasan, 28.