Bongo Bazar misses Eid vibe a year after the blaze
Traders urge for swift completion of the new market building to be constructed on the site
As with every Ramadan, Sahabuddin was waiting for customers to sell garment products in the capital's Bongo Bazar. However, the atmosphere at the site this year is completely different.
He set up a makeshift shop, displaying products on a table under a roof made of canvas cloth supported by a bamboo frame.
Around 1,600 businessmen, like him, have adopted this approach on the premises of the market, which was ravaged by a devastating fire last year, consuming thousands of shops.
"I've only managed to sell 12 pairs of pants since this morning. But in the past, I used to sell products worth Tk70,000-Tk80,000 every day during Ramadan," Sahabuddin told The Business Standard on 18 March.
He said he lost products worth Tk35 lakh in last year's fire along with his shop. Since then, he restarted his business by clearing the debris and purchasing some products on loan. "But the business hasn't rebounded," Sahabuddin said.
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Many businessmen who lost their shops in the fire relocated to Annexco Tower, which was also damaged by last year's fire and is located beside Bongo Bazar. However, the situation there is almost the same.
"There is hardly any sale in this market like in Bongo Bazar. I haven't been allotted much space here. I've heard that a new market is being built. We are eagerly waiting for the construction work to be completed," said a shop owner in Annexco Tower who moved there after the Bongo Bazar fire.
The Dhaka South City Corporation has planned to construct a 10-storey commercial building at the site of Bongo Bazar. The proposed shopping mall is projected to be completed within the next four years, with an estimated cost of about Tk386 crore. Once constructed, the affected shop owners will have the opportunity to relocate to this new market.
On the early morning of 4 April last year, a fire broke out in Bongo Bazar and surrounding markets continuing to ravage shops for the next six and a half hours. By the time it was extinguished, the entire complex had been burnt down.
Eid spirit missing this year
Business in Bongo Bazar used to thrive, gearing up to sell wholesale products from 15 days before the start of Ramadan until the last week of the month. Businessmen eagerly awaited this time of year for profit, but now it's only a memory.
Sahabuddin said that traders from all over the country used to flock here to purchase wholesale goods. However, they have since relocated to other places, including Kaliganj and Sadarghat.
Before the fire, every year before Eid, Bongo Bazar used to be bustling with customers. The pressure of selling from morning till night was so intense that traders barely had time to catch their breath. However, this time, the scene is entirely different.
Bongo Bazar is now largely empty, with most of the makeshift shops vacant and no buyers in sight.
Mohammad Alamgir, sales manager of Robin Garments, said, "Our wholesale sales have decreased by 70%. Customers who used to purchase products here are now buying from other places. Many people believe that the variety of clothing available here will not be as extensive as before.
However, traders hope that retail sales might see an uptick at the beginning of next month once job holders receive their salaries.
Traders demand speedy construction of new market building
According to the Dhaka South City Corporation, the construction of the 10-storey commercial building at the site of Bongo Bazar Complex, covering around 176 decimals of land, may commence after the upcoming Eid. The entire construction cost will be borne by the shop owners. The building is planned to accommodate a total of 3,213 shops across four blocks.
The Dhaka South City Corporation has estimated the construction cost of the building to be Tk5,500 per square foot, with the price per square foot of the shops expected to be around.
NDE Infrastructure Ltd has been contracted for the construction of the building.
Helal Uddin, president of the Bangladesh Shop Owners Association, told TBS, "We urge for the swift completion of this building.
On compensation money that the affected shop owners have received, Zahirul Islam, general secretary of the Bongo Bazar Complex Shop Owners Association, said, "We have Tk6.27 crore, and the remaining Tk15 crore is deposited with the government. The prime minister will soon talk with affected businesses and disburse the funds."
He added that, according to the city corporation's records, there are 2,961 legitimate traders in Bongo Bazar.
Kizer Mohammad Farabi, chief estate officer of Dhaka South City, told TBS that the foundation stone of the new building will be laid by the prime minister after Eid. Following this, an advertisement will be published in newspapers for the allotment of shops.
He further said that priority in this market will be given to the affected businessmen in Bongo Bazar. The remaining shops after the application process of the affected listed traders will be allotted through an open process. If there are more applications than available shops, a lottery will be conducted.
