'Goods worth Tk15 lakh up in smoke. Now I am a beggar'
Forty-year-old Rakib Hossain was the owner of Alijaz Collection, shop No 320 at the New Super Market shopping mall adjacent to the capital's Dhaka College.
He had left Tk1 lakh in the shop's cash register after making Eid sales till 3am on Saturday (15 April).
He was all set to bring in goods worth Tk2 lakh this morning to meet Eid demand.
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But all of Rakib's dreams, ambitions and hopes were burnt to ashes after a massive fire broke out at the popular shopping destination at around 5am.
A distorted, helpless Rakib, hands on his head, said, "I could not save any of my goods from the fire. Everything, items worth Tk15 lakh have been gutted.
"I was informed about the fire right after it started. But the blaze was so intense that I could not go inside."
"I have lost everything. I don't know how I will repay my Tk8 lakh loan," Rakib, who came to this market from Noakhali and worked his way up from being a shop assistant, added.
Asma Begum in search of her sons
Asma Begum, 56, rushed to the New Super Market from Kamrangirchar after hearing the news of the fire at around 8am. Her two sons, Shohag, 20 and Siraj, 25, who own a jeans shop, remain missing since the fire started.
"Sohag used to cut and resizes jeans. The two had been working on the market's second floor for the past five years. The two had invested their hard-earned money to own a shop in the market.
"My sons used to work as tailors before starting their own business."
Holding a business card of the shop owned by Shohag and Siraj -- Light Man -- their mother said, "My sons had taken loans from banks as well as relatives. I don't know how I would face them now.
'I have lost at least Tk2 crore'
Mohammad Jewel Rana, one of the hundreds of traders in the market, owns 10 shops. He came to the market immediately after hearing the fire news.
He even tried to save his goods from the blaze but could not do so due to the high heat.
Speaking with The Business Standard, he broke down crying and said, "I, along with many others, could not bring any of the goods out from the shops."
"I lost at least Tk2 crore in the fire."
Sweeper Rashida Begum uncertain about future
Rashida Begum, 50, has been working as a sweeper at the New Super Marker for five years. She rushed to the market after being notified about the fire and started praying to Allah to save the place of her livelihood.
When asked for a comment, she said, "What can I say? I make a living by sweeping the shops at the market. How are employees like me now going to feed themselves in the coming days?"
According to Rashida, "Our survival depends on the shop owners, who even give us Eid bonuses. Now the owners have become bankrupt following the fire."
'Woke up shocked to the news of the fire'
Md Al Amin of Mishu Fashion ran to the market to save his father's 13-year-old business and was able to bring out some of the goods which he says were worth around Tk90 lakh.
"Eid sales were not good. We thought we would make some sales in the last few days. Now I am totally confused," said the devastated man.
