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goods worth Tk 20–22 lakh in the fire, much of it bought on credit. “I did not receive any compensation from the city corporation. My two employees received Tk 25,000 each, but I got nothing,” he said.

Belayet now sells children’s clothing in a makeshift setup in front of the burnt market. “I am somehow managing to live. I don’t know when I will get a shop again,” he added.

After his shop was entirely gutted in the fire, Ibrahim Khalil, 32, owner of Dewan Fashion, failed to sustain a pavement stall, and now works as a shop employee in Annex Tower. Facing the uncertainty, his brother left for Saudi Arabia two months ago, he added.

According to sources, after the blaze, a joint account was opened with IFIC Bank by Bangladesh Shop Owners Association president Helal Uddin, Bangabazar Shop Owners Association general secretary Johirul Haque, and Gulistan section’s shop owners’ association president Nazmul Huda. A fund of Tk 6.19 crore was collected from institutions like the FBCCI and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), and kept in the account, where it remains unspent while growing to Tk 6.25 crore with interest accumulated over the past three years.

Contacted, Helal Uddin said, “The money is still in the bank. It could not be distributed due to complications over the list of affected shop owners.”

“We wanted to distribute the money through the city corporation, and they had given us assurance in this regard. However, no decision has been made yet,” said Johirul Haque.

Ghulam Faruq Khan, former vice-president of the joint committee of the four Bangabazar markets, said reconstruction is ongoing, with three to four floors completed. He noted that shop allocations would follow once the salami is fixed and payments are made in instalments, though he admitted the process would take time.

DSCC data indicate 3,845 shops were destroyed in the blaze that had likely originated from a short circuit or mosquito coil. However, some traders now allege that the market may have been deliberately set on fire to clear the land for a new complex.

On October 22, 2024, trader Kamal Hossain Ripon filed a case against 30 people, including the then DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapas, alleging damages of Tk 500 crore.

Contacted, DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam said initiatives to compensate the traders would be taken soon, noting that disputes over the list of beneficiaries had stalled the process.

For the victim traders of Bangabazar like Belayet Hossain, official explanations offer little comfort.

“We lost everything in the fire. Funds were collected in our names, but we received nothing. Now it is just a fight to survive,” he said.