'I saw the source of my livelihood burning'
Just six months ago, 29-year-old Tarek opened a shop in the capital's Bangabazar Shopping Complex by taking a loan.
But he lost everything in a moment in the massive fire that broke out at the clothing market this morning.
"I rushed to the market at 6:30am as soon as I came to know about it. But I could not enter. I saw how source of my livelihood was burning," Tarek, the eldest child of his parents, told The Daily Star while sitting on a rickshaw van near the burning market around 11:00am, when the fire was still burning.
"I took a bank loan of Tk 5 lakh and borrowed another Tk 1 lakh to run my business. I kept Tk 50,000 inside the shop to give to someone. How will I pay this money now?" he said.
"My family of nine depends solely on my income. How can I pay for expenses now?" the father of two continued.
Every month, his parents, who live in Raipur of Lakshmipur, need medicine worth around Tk 5,000. "How can I buy medicine for my sick parents?"
Echoing Tarek, Ala Uddin, proprietor of Mayer Doya Garments, said, "I lost everything. I suffered a loss of Tk 20 lakh. I could not bring out a single piece of cloth from my shop.
"Through a loan, I bought new clothes for Eid, but everything is finished," he said in a choked voice.
Abdus Samad, proprietor of Samad Garments, is concerned about how he would bear his family's expenses.
"We brought garments through loan. But how will the loan be repaid now?" he added.
No deaths were reported in the fire that tore through the iconic market and was brought under control after more than six hours this morning.
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