Construction of 10-storey complex to begin soon

After a year since the devastating fire at Bangabazar Market in the capital's Fulbaria, Dhaka South City Corporation is all set to construct a new 10-storey commercial building at the site.

The proposed complex, to be named Bangabazar Paikari Nagar Biponi Bitan, aims to provide a modern marketplace for the affected shop owners.

Traders at the market lost around Tk 303 crore worth of stuff in the blaze, and now they will be allotted shops in the new building where they can start anew.

Earlier, Fire Service and Civil Defence on April 2, 2019, declared the Bangabazar complex as extremely dangerous. They also issued notices in this regard 10 times, however, shop owners ignored those notices.

Meanwhile, DSCC had been looking to build a new multi-storied building in the space of Bangabazar complex, but it was prevented by the shopkeepers before the fire occurred. Now the DSCC is finally going ahead with its plan.

Sources at DSCC's engineering department said construction of Bangabazar complex is expected to begin this month and end by 2028 at an estimated cost of Tk 387 crore.

The new market will comprise four blocks -- for Bangbazar hawkers' market, Gulistan hawkers' market, Mahanagar hawkers' market, and Adarsha hawkers' market -- spanning across 106.28 katha of land and accommodating a total of 3,213 shops.

Before the fire, there were 2,961 legal shops in the four markets of Bangabazar complex.

Owners of these shops will get allocations at the new building by depositing Tk 20 lakh each in the DSCC fund in four installments, and will get their shops by showing the valid allotment papers and other documents, said DSCC sources.

Rakib Hossain, owner of a shop at Bangabazar, said, "None will object to paying the necessary amount if they are guaranteed of getting a shop at the new market."

Meanwhile, Tk 6.19 crore was collected in a savings account opened with the money raised to help the affected businessmen following the fire incident.

However, none of the affected businessmen reportedly received the aid money.

Asked, Helal Uddin, president of Bangladesh Shop Owners Association, confirmed it.

A DSCC source said the money from the savings is being considered for spending on the construction of the proposed market complex, adjusting it to the amount the shop owners were supposed to pay in installments.

Zahirul Islam, general secretary of a shop owners' association at Bangabazar, said, "We are eagerly waiting for construction of the new building to start as soon as possible and hope that it will be completed within stipulated time."

DSCC mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, said, "The ongoing business activities will continue till Eid-ul-Fitr, after which the construction works of the new market complex will begin. We hope the premier will lay its foundation stone."   "The tender process in this regard has already been completed. At the new market, space will be provided to those whose shops were damaged in the fire," he added.