People rummage through remains after a fire ravaged Dhaka North City Corporation Market at Gulshan in Dhaka on Tuesday. — Sourav Lasker

A part of two-storied DNCC Market at Gulshan-1 in Dhaka collapsed and most of the shops in the remaining part were gutted as the market caught fire early Tuesday.

No casualties were, however, reported.

The shop owners alleged that it was an act of sabotage aiming at their eviction from the market.

Dhaka North city mayor Annisul Huq, who visited the spot twice, however, denied that it was act of sabotage. He claimed that it was an accident and suspected that short-circuit might have caused the fire.

A Dhaka North City Corporation senior revenue official told New Age that the market had 605 shops – 363 in the kitchen market part and 242 in the supermarket portion.

Fire service and civil defence control room officials told New Age in the evening that that the fire broke out at about 2:30am and 23 fire fighting units could bring the fire under control at about 5:45pm.

They said that the fire fighters were still working to douse the flames until 8:00pm. The reason of fire could not be established immediately.

The market housed both retailers and wholesalers of almost all kinds of goods including kitchen items, grocery, plastic, cosmetics, jewelleries, garments, furniture, shoes, home decoration and electric and electronic goods.

Market’s security guard Nur Mohammad said that he heard a loud bang of suspected transformer blast and then saw flames of fire in the southern part of the market.

He said that he immediately shouted for those staying in the market to come out.

The fire spread all over the market speedily, he added.

Kitchen market shop staff Abdur Rakib said that he woke up hearing the shouting of the guard and saw flames of fire in the market sometime after 2:00am.

He said that he ran out of the building and informed the shop owner who came to the spot in an hour only to see that all his goods were burning.

Abdur Rakib said that the kitchen market part collapsed in the morning and none could save anything from the part.

DNCC Kuncha Market Businessmen’s Association president Sher Mohammad alleged that the fire was an act of sabotage.

He said that as per an agreement signed between the city corporation and Metro Group in 2003, an 18-storied building was supposed to be constructed demolishing the market.

As there was no plan to rehabilitate the businesses, they refused to leave the place, he said.

He said that they had been engaged in discussions with Annisul Huq for a reasonable solution since Annisul was elected mayor.

He claimed that it was an act of sabotage and that was why the kitchen market part collapsed so fast.

‘I only could see my shop burning along with chickens and eggs as I reached here at about 3:30am…Now I have turned into a begga,’ said Md Mizan, owner of Mizan Chicken House.

Abdul Awal, owner of Shaheen Varieties Store, said that his, shop where he had goods worth about Tk 15 lakh, was burned to ashes.

‘I could recover nothing as I saw them burning at 3:00am when I reached here,’ he lamented.

As the fire broke out, the whole area was covered by smokes and some businesses and their staff could bring out their goods from their shops and piled them in front of the market.

Most of them, however, lost their goods. A number of businesses were wailing and many looked frustrated.

The area witnessed a severe congestion throughout the day as police restricted traffics.

The shops of the adjacent market remained closed.

Fire service director (operation) Shakil Newaj said that the market had almost no fire control system of its own.

Once the water brought by the fire service was finished they had to bring water from other places which hampered the fire fighting, he said.

He said that they had formed a five-member committee to probe the incident.

Mayor Annisul indicated that short circuit might have caused the fire.

The National Human Rights Commission chairman, Kazi Reazul Hoque, visited the spot and met the affected traders.

He told reporters that it needed to be investigated whether it was an act of sabotage or an accident as the question of sabotage was raised.

He proposed formation of a joint committee of police, fire service and shop owners to determine the reason behind the fire.

‘If it is proved as an act of sabotage, the perpetrators must be identified and brought to book,’ he said.

Inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Hoque and Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Md Asaduzzaman Mia also visited the spot.