Trader Monir Hossain returned home at 2:00am on Saturday after shutting his shop on the 3rd floor of Dhaka New Super Market in the capital. In the early hours of Friday, he came to know that a fire broke out at the market. Immediately he rushed to the market and saw fire ravaging the 3rd floor of the market. Seeing the massive fire, he burst into tears.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Monir Hossain said, "My shop has been gutted in the fire. My dreams are finished."
He said his shop adjacent to Adita Fashion is on the 3rd floor of New Super Market. "I had bought goods worth Tk 500,000 two days ago. My shop is now burnt into ashes."
Like Monir, shops of many traders have been engulfed in the fire. Affected traders were crying profusely. Abu Sayeed and his brother's four shops have been gutted.
Abu Sayeed shut his shop Habib Fashion at 2:30m on Saturday. He said he received the news of fire at around 6:30am on Saturday and rushed to the market and found out that all four of their shops have been affected by the blaze.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Abu Sayeed said, "All four of our shops have been gutted. All goods are burnt into ashes. What will we do now?"
At least 10 affected traders of Dhaka New Super Market told Prothom Alo they returned home after closing shops at around 2:00am. Getting news early in the morning, they rushed to the spot and found the market was engulfed in flames.
Robin, the owner of Linking Park shop, returned home at around 4:00am.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said the fire broke out after he had closed the shop and returned home. He said he had kept Tk 600,000 in the cash box. Goods worth at least Tk 1 million were bought ahead of Eid.
The fire broke out at the three-storey building of Dhaka New Super Market early Saturday.
A total of 28 firefighting units, along with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and other law enforcement agencies are working to douse the blaze.
According to the Fire Service and Civil Defence, they received the information of the fire at around 5:40am and some 18 firefighting units rushed there immediately to bring the flames under control. Later, five more units joined them. But as the flames kept raging on, five more units joined the efforts.
Recently, around five thousand shops were gutted in a devastating fire at Banga Bazar in the capital. Several thousand traders have been affected.