Bangabazar shops may open temporarily from Wednesday: Taposh

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh today said that the shops at Bangabazar Shopping Complex may start makeshift operations from Wednesday as the cleaning work at the charred premises will be completed tomorrow.

The mayor said this following a meeting with the affected traders of the market this afternoon.

Taposh said the list of the victims will be completed tomorrow. It was supposed to be completed by today.

"The market premises will be levelled by laying bricks so that traders can start business even if temporarily by Wednesday," he added.

So far Tk two crore has been deposited to the fund opened for the affected traders of Bangabazar, said the DSCC mayor.

"We hope that the capable people of the society will come forward to help the traders. Financial assistance will also come from the prime minister's fund," Taposh said.

The devastating fire at the Bangabazar market may have burnt more than Tk 1,000 crore worth of investment into ashes, said the president of the Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity, the apex trade body of shop owners.

There were around 2,500 shops in the market, one of the popular clothing markets in the capital for retailers and wholesalers. The shop owners had invested heavily to profit from the biggest shopping festival ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.