One year since Bangabazar fire: Now a shadow of its former self

Even little over a year ago, Bangabazar market used to be crowded with shoppers and traders from dawn till midnight ahead of Eid. But now, it's a shadow of its former self.

Everything changed exactly one year ago on this day. On April 4, 2023, just after Sehri, a devastating blaze gutted nearly 3,000 shops in the market, constructed with tin and wood.

The entire market turned into ashes, alongside clothes worth crores of taka, leaving the shop owners and businessmen destitute in the blink of an eye.

The market has failed to regain its previous vibrancy, even ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr and Pahela Baishakh. The shops at the market, which used to sell clothes worth lakhs of taka daily before the incident, now barely manage to earn Tk 2,000-5,000 from sales per day.

On the other hand, customers are no longer getting products as per their requirements, unlike previously, when the market catered to customers from almost all walks of life.

Before the fire, the market used to see huge crowds ahead of Eid coming to buy clothes from morning till night, leaving the sellers hardly a chance to take a break.

A year after the fire, the scene, however, is completely different now.

Visiting the Bangabazar Market recently, this correspondent found it largely empty, with hardly any customers. Sellers at most makeshift shops were seen sitting idly with a grim face and a heavy heart. New clothing items on display at the shops ahead of Eid were collecting dust in the absence of buyers.

"Wholesale sales have decreased significantly, by around 70 percent. Many of our wholesale buyers are no longer coming, thinking they won't find the same quality of clothes here anymore," said Mohammad Alamgir, a seller at Robin Garments.

Kamal Hossain, a businessman who lost all three of his shops in the market fire, has not yet recovered from the losses.

"We haven't been able to stand up again, even after a year. There were huge debts when the fire gutted our shops, and we have not been able to repay those yet," he said.

Sahabuddin, owner of Mim Fashion, echoed him.

Roni, another shop owner, said, "Many of us lost contacts with our wholesale customers across the country. After the fire, only a few of these customers cleared their payments, while the rest did not even contact us."

Only a few shoppers were roaming around the makeshift shops at the market, seemingly disappointed.

"I came to buy a three-piece dress. There used to be clothes of much more quantity and variety at this market before, but not anymore, as it seems," said Rajia Aktar.

Rashidul Islam, another customer, echoed her.

Parvez Reza, who came to shop for his children, said, "The prices seem higher compared to the products available as well as the market's environment. It's difficult to buy anything if that's how things are."