by Staff Correspondent, Dhaka – A fire at a market in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka has left more than 300 shops burned to ashes, firefighters said.

Firefighters took nearly six hours to douse the flame at the tin-roofed two-storey Krishi Market at Dhaka’s Mohammadpur neighbourhood, said Lieutenant Colonel Tajul Islam Chowdhury of Fire Service and Civil Defence emergency department.

He said the firefighters rushed to the scene as soon as his department was informed at about 3.43 am that a fire broke out at the Krishi Market, a popular shopping places for lower and middle-income group of people in Dhaka.

Troopers from the army, navy and air force to join the firefighting efforts as the flame engulfed quickly into the market, he added.

The cause of the fire could not be known immediately, said Chowdhury adding that a panel of experts was assigned to determine the reason behind the accident and the extent of damage out of it.  

Mohammad Hossain, a leader of one of the traders’ associations at the market, said the fire damaged more than 300 shops. Three of his shops were completely gutted.

“Many shop owners, like me, rushed to the market, but could not save any product,” regretted Hossain.

He said the two-story tin-roofed market has more than 1,000 shops, which accommodated clothing stores, plastic products, crockeries, shoes, groceries and a kitchen market.

Selim Reza, chief executive officer of the Dhaka North City Corporation, however, said some 217 out of a total of 343 legally allocated shops were damaged. He admitted that there were many illegally built structures around the market.

Fire incidents are very common in Bangladesh mainly due to lax implementation of law and poor maintenance.

A massive fire at a popular clothing market in Dhaka’s Bangabanzar burned down more than 3,000 shops on April 4, 2023 followed by yet another fire gutted many shops at the New Super Market in Dhaka.

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