Nearly 200 shops were gutted and around 30 people got injured in the terrible fire in the New Super Market building beside the New Market in the capital.
President of New Market Traders' Association Dewan Aminul Islam Shaheen said this at a press conference on Saturday, reports BSS.
"According to preliminary estimates, each store had merchandise worth about Taka 20 lakh to one crore...Those goods were destroyed by fire and damaged by the water," he told the journalists on Saturday afternoon.
Besides, Mohammad Shahjahan Shikder, Media Cell (Officer-in-Charge) of "The Life Saving Force Bahini" told BSS today that a total of 30 people, including one air force sergeant, three fire service officers, 21 fire fighters, two volunteers, two Ansar members and one scout were injured while extinguishing the fire.
"They are undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and burn unit of the hospital," he added.
The third-floor shops sustained significant damage from a fire that broke out at 5:40am and was brought under control at 9:10am by 30 firefighting units and teams from police, army, navy and air force, RAB, BGB and Ansar with locals rescue campaigners.
Initially, the fire service official could not give any information about the cause of the fire, the amount of damage and casualties.
Affected businessmen and local people said there were 1275 shops in the building of Dhaka New Super Market (South) damaged by the devastating fire.
Owner of Bismillah Crockery Monir Hossain said, "As far as I know, there are 1275 shops here. Although there are more clothe shops, at least 200 categories of business are done in this market."
The businessmen said the largest building in New Market had the largest number of clothing stores. However, they had at least two hundred categories of business in this three-storey market.
The third floor of the market had ready-made garments and others, including children's items, adults' pants-shirts, t-shirts, jeans items, saree-lungis, three-pieces, travel bags, money-bags, belts and wallets, they added.
The second floor also has ready-made clothing, garment items and crockery on the south side, souvenir shops and on the ground floor curtains, bedsheets, seasonal fabrics, home furnishing items, stoves, microwaves, glassware, home furnishing items.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
