Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has allocated Tk nine crore as Eid gift  for the shop workers, traders and owners at Bangabazar who have been affected in a devastating fire incident recently. The money has already been sent to their mobile phone, said Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah. Read More: Traders of Bangabazar set up around 800 temporary shops at the site.

Traders of Bangabazar, whose businesses burned down in the recent fire at the market, set up temporary shops on the streets and footpaths at the site of the incident today. Around 800 traders displayed their stocks since this morning. They set up their makeshift shops under the flyover, on the south side of Bangabazar Market. Many traders are sitting with the clothes they were able to save from the devastating fire last Tuesday. Even though there is a crowd around the shops, sales are yet to pick up.  The traders setting up the temporary shops said they were displaying whatever goods they could save from the Bangabazar Market fire. Aynal Hossain was sitting at his shop under the flyover. He told UNB that he had two shops in Bangabazar Market. Both shops were burnt to ashes. “I was able to move some stuff. So I brought it here. No sale yet, because our regular customers do not know the address of the shop. Only Allah knows how we will celebrate this Eid,” he said. Trader Shahidul Islam had a shop in Bangabazar, selling jeans and shirts. The shop burnt to ashes and now he has also set up shop on the footpath. Read more: Bangabazar fire finally doused after 75 hours “Everything is over. There is no money for food at home. So, I was forced to set up shop on the footpath,” he lamented. Last Tuesday, (April 4) at 6:10 am, a terrible fire broke out in Bangabazar  complex in the capital. Bongo Market, Gulistan Market, Mahanagar Shopping Complex, Adarsha Market and Annex Tower were burnt down. Businessmen claim that they have lost around Tk 2000 crore in the fire.  

A fire that broke out earlier this morning (April 08, 2023) at Dhaka’s Barishal Plaza Market -- opposite to Bangabazar which burned down just four days ago -- has been doused. The fire broke out on the 3rd floor of the market around 8:05 am and spread soon, said Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters. There are a number of markets within Barishal Plaza and Maleka Market is on the 3rd floor of the building. Also read: Demra chemical warehouse fire tamed within one hour On information, 14 firefighting units rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control around 8:45 am. It took the firefighters nearly one and a half hours to fully douse the flames around 9:40 am. However, what caused the fire could not be known immediately. Read More: Traders can temporarily operate at Bangabazar from this Saturday: Salman F Rahman No casualty has been reported. A massive fire broke out at the Bangabazar Market in Dhaka on April 4 and it spread to some other nearby markets, burning several thousand shops, with mainly readymade clothes and footwear, to ashes.

The affected traders of the Bangabazar fire incident have sought interest-free loans to survive in the business and for repayment of their bank liabilities. In addition, they called on the government to develop infrastructures for business operations again at the same place. The traders of Bangabazar Market made the demand while talking to reporters in front of the damaged market on Wednesday (April 05, 2023). Read More: MCCI to stand beside businesses that suffered loss in Bangabazar fire On Monday a devastating fire gutted around 5,000 small shops in Bangabazar and its nearby markets. Standing in front of his burnt shop, businessman Daud Mia told UNB that he took a loan of Tk 15 lakh from the bank a few days ago giving his home as collateral. “The goods of my three shops were burnt in the fire along with other goods, I am now destitute. There is no arrangement to pay the installments. So, I am asking the government for an interest-free loan to repay the bank loan,” he said as he sobbed. Read More: Bangabazar Market manifests govt’s irresponsibility: Fakhrul The businessmen urged the government to allow setting up shops in the same place again so that the traders who have clothes in their warehouse can sell them. Authorities say an assessment is being done to determine the losses from the fire, apparently to devise a way for supporting the affected businessmen.

BNP on Wednesday demanded adequate compensation for the traders and employees affected by the massive fire that destroyed  the Bangabazar market on Tuesday. BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas made the demand while talking to reporters after visiting the fire-ravaged Bangabazar. "The businessmen have lost lakhs of takas in the devastating fire. The government has announced to provide each of the affected traders with only Tk15,000. It is absolutely inadequate,” he said. The BNP leader said there are shop employees alongside the affected traders who also should be given the compensation. “We think this compensation for the victim should be adequate. Besides, the employees of the gutted shops should also be given the compensation accordingly,” he observed.   Abbas, a former mayor of undivided Dhaka, said he has got shocked seeing the trail of devastation of the fire. “All the shops were burnt to ashes. How can traders overcome this loss?” Expressing their party’s sympathy to the affected businessmen and shopkeepers, he said BNP will also provide the affected people with financial assistance as much as possible. “We’ll stand by them (affected traders and employees).” Read more: Govt to assist Bangabazar businesses to recover from fire damages: PM Hasina Abbas along with BNP south city unit convener Abdus Salam, member secretary Rafiqul Alam Mojnu and member Ishraque Hossain went to the fire-hit   Bangabazar market around 12:15amand talked to the victims. A massive fire broke out at the Bangabazar Shopping Complex in Dhaka on Tuesday morning and it spread to some other nearby markets, burning over 4,000 shops, mainly readymade garment and footwear stores, to ashes.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday (April 05, 2023) said the government will assist the Bangabazar businesspeople as much as possible after estimating the damages caused by Tuesday’s fire. “I’ve already assured that we will help them as much as we can. We’ll assess who incurred how much loss,” she said addressing an event at her official residence Ganabhaban. The event was arranged to receive Tk 316.91 crore as first and second installments of the loan provided by the government for construction of Padma Bridge. Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Quader handed over a cheque of Tk 316,90,97,049 to the Prime Minister as the first and second installments of the loan taken from Bangladesh Bank at a low interest rate under an agreement signed between the Finance Division and the Bangladesh Bridge Authority. Read More: Repayment of Padma Bridge loan starts with Tk 316.91 crore given to govt Terming the fire as a very tragic incident, Hasina said it is too much to bear the suffering and crying of so many businesspeople ahead of the Eid-ul Fitr. She said the government undertook a project to construct a planned market there following the fire incidents in 1995 and 2018. But a good number of people obstructed it and filed a writ petition and then the High Court stayed the project. “Hadn’t it (the project) been stayed at that time, we could have built a good market and then such a terrible accident would not have happened,” she said. The premier, however, lambasted a number of unruly people who attacked nearby the headquarters of the fire service. Their behavior has angered her, she said. Read More: Bangabazar blaze: DSCC forms probe committee  The firefighters rushed to the spot soon after fire broke out to extinguish the blaze. The PM said she asked to identify the attackers and take proper action against them. “Proper action will be taken against them. Case will be filed against them,” she said. She said if anyone attacks the members or vehicles of the fire service or other public property in future, they won’t be spared.