Traders on footpaths

 Nine days into a devastating fire which reduced much of the DCC Market in Gulshan-1 to rubble, scores of the affected traders yesterday set up shop on footpaths in front and on the west end giving away whatever product they managed to salvage at throwaway prices.

“I am selling every product at a loss of Tk 300 to 400, otherwise it will be a total loss,” said Abdul Karim sitting with his goods in front of the market.   

The products have been damaged in one way or another on being exposed to heat, soot or black smoke from the fire, he said.  

The array of goods put on display at the makeshift shops drew a large number of passers-by who stopped to try their luck at getting a good bargain on products which might come in handy, albeit following a good deal of inspection.

The products available include accessories for women, cosmetics, perfumes, shoes, clothes such as fancy frocks, toys, baby diapers, blankets and decorative pieces meant for households.

Construction of a number of makeshift shops was seen underway on a portion of the car park in front of the market to accommodate some of the affected shop owners.  

Meanwhile, a team from Bangladesh Army got involved in the process to remove the massive chunks of concrete lying among the debris of a four-story kitchen and grocery market that collapsed in the fire.   

The devastating fire engulfed the kitchen market, causing it to collapse on the 296 shops inside early January 3, heavily damaging 234 shops of the adjoining supermarket and causing an estimated loss of Tk 200 crore.    

Though firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading by 6:00am, it took around 16 hours for them to douse it completely.  

A seven-member probe body led by Lt Col Mosharaf Hossain, a director of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, is now trying to identify the cause of the fire. They have a deadline of 15 workdays starting from the day of the fire.