Traders' distrust in city corporation hinders Bangabazar reconstruction

Two out of the three shops owned by Amin Patwary were completely burnt in the devastating fire that broke out in the Bangabazar market in the capital on Tuesday. All the goods in those two shops also turned into ashes.

While Amin managed to save most of the goods from the third shop, over half of them were either damaged by water or stolen.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that his businesses have fallen victim to fire.

In 1997, he purchased two shops in the Hawkers' Market in Gulistan for Tk4.5 lakh. Unfortunately, he lost both shops when the market was burnt down. In 2007, when the market was reconstructed, he was unable to reclaim his previous ownership of the shops.

"The city corporation has not yet returned the ownership of my shop in the Hawkers' Market. How can I trust them? Even if they reconstruct any market, people with political connections will get priority when it comes to shop allocation," Amin Patwari told The Business Standard.

He stated that they had been discussing the demolition of this market and the construction of a new one for a long time, but the city corporation never agreed to their demands. As a result, they did not agree to hand over the market.

Mehedi Hasan, owner of another burnt shop in Bangabazar, said that his father spent Tk22-23 lakh to secure a shop allocation from the City Corporation back in 2010.

He also mentioned that every month, his father attended the meeting of the shop owners' association. In these meetings, the proposal to construct a new market by demolishing the existing shops used to be raised.

"However, none of the shop owners in the market agreed to the proposal, as the city corporation could not assure them that the current shop owners would be allocated new shops once the reconstruction is completed," said Mehedi Hasan.

Many other businessmen of the Bangabazar, who lost their shops in Tuesday's fire, echoed the same concerns as Amin Patwari and Mehedi Hasan. The activities of the city corporation also seem to support their concerns.

According to sources, the construction of several markets owned by the Dhaka South City Corporation has been stalled for years. Moreover, many illegal shops have been established in most of their existing markets. These shops have been operating for years with the involvement of market association leaders and a group of city corporation officials.

As per the Dhaka South City Corporation, the shops in the Gulistan Trade Center Market were allocated approximately 15 years ago, with an advance payment of Tk2 lakh for each shop. However, the corporation failed to complete the market's construction despite collecting the funds.

After a long delay, the city corporation invited tenders for the market's reconstruction in 2018. But the market is yet to be built.

This city corporation allocated the shops in Kaptanbazar Chicken Market five years ago and collected installment payments in several stages. However, there has been no progress in the market's construction. Moreover, the city corporation has charged Tk4 lakh from each shop owner.

Construction work of the Chankhar Pool Market began on 2 October 2017, with an intended completion date of October 2019. However, the city corporation is yet to allocate the shops.

Last year, the Dhaka South City Corporation allocated shops in Bansree Meradia Kacha Bazar in Rampura. Initially, a security deposit of Tk4 lakh was collected. After the allocation, they charged an additional Tk3 lakh for each shop. The construction of the market has not begun yet.

Sources said over the last few years, the south city has earned hundreds of crores of taka by allocating shops in more than 10 markets. However, no one has yet received ownership of these shops. In many cases, the city corporation has not even started construction works.

These records have fueled the distrust of Bangabazar businessmen towards the credibility of the city corporation.

According to Dhaka South city officials, the High Court issued a status quo order on the property after the traders filed two writ petitions in 2017 for the Bangabazar Shopping Complex.

The city corporation planned to accommodate the traders in the new building there. But the traders were not willing to forgo their business during the construction of the building.

Belayet Hossain, vice-president of the Bangabazar Unit-Ka Owners Association, said the shop owners always insisted that they would not leave without the promise of rehabilitation. "We were worried whether we would get all the shops from the city corporation after the reconstruction."

Russell Sabrin, chief estate officer of the Dhaka South Corporation, told TBS that the construction of new markets would be completed within the stipulated time and many markets have already ensured possession of shops to the owners.

He said that some shops in the Gulistan Trade Center Market have been completed and the rest are under process. Besides, the construction work of the Chankhar Pool Market has stopped as the contractor company has left working. The works in the rest of the markets are progressing at normal speed.

He mentioned that some of the shops in the Gulistan Trade Center Market have already been completed, while the rest are still under construction. "However, the construction of Chankhar Pool Market has come to a halt, as the contractor company has stopped working. The construction work in the other markets is progressing at a normal pace."

The official further added that due to the writ in the High Court, the city corporation was unable to work in the Bangabazar market.

"The businessmen of Bangabazar have no reason to distrust us, and if they had allowed the city corporation to work, the possession of their shops would have been handed over by now," he said.