Empress Market fire: Over 100 shops gutted

Fire in Empress Market gutted more than a hundred shops. Some parts of the buildings have also collapsed. No deaths.

KARACHI:

A fire broke out in the Empress Market at around 3:30 am on Sunday that gutted more than a hundred shops in the historic bazaar. About 25 per cent of the second biggest wholesale market of the city were affected and the loss is feared to be in billions of rupees. Some parts of the buildings have also collapsed. However, no loss of life was reported in the incident.

A man from the nearest teashop informed the fire brigade office. Fire tenders, rescuers and a heavy contingent of law enforcers reached the site and extinguished the fire after a two-hour battle.

“The blaze was so intense,” described Chief Fire Officer Ehtishamuddin Siddiqi. “That is why we called the fire brigade vehicles from all over the city as we did not want to take any kind of risk,” he told The Express Tribune.

Firemen faced trouble in putting out the fire due to the congested area, a large crowd and combustible fumes in the shops.

This huge fire could have engulfed the whole market and also the surrounding markets, Siddiqi said. It took the firemen two hours because the main doors of the market were locked and no watchman was around. “We first broke the locks and then started the extinguishing.”

About 350 small and big shops and godowns are located in the Empress Market. At least 108 shops were located on the grocery side located on the upper floor of the market, which is where the fire broke out.

Siddiqi said the reason for the fire was still unclear but loose electrical wiring and the ‘kunda system’ could have caused a short circuit.

“Even though, so far, it is believed that the fire was accidental we will still register a case so that shop owners can get compensation from the government,” Saddar Town SP Irshad Ali Raza Sehar told The Express Tribune.

Separate committees headed by Revenue EDO Roshan Ali Shaikh and Enterprise and Investment Promotion EDO Dr Saifur Rehman have been established to ascertain the reason of the inferno, calculate losses and start restoration work.

Provincial Minister for Information Technology Raza Haroon along with Karachi administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed visited the market and promised compensation.

Unaided shop owners

Shop owners helplessly looked at the remains of their source of livelihood. One of them ran his fingers through a pile of ashes. “My shop was being burnt right in front of me and I could not do anything,” said Naeem Rehman. “This was not only a shop. This was the future of my family.”

“This market is so old but unfortunately there is no security or emergency system in place,” said shopkeeper Ibrahim. “Who is responsible for this?”

The market does not even have a proper door to allow a fire tender in. “The government needs to build emergency gates not only in this market, but in all the city’s major bazaars,” suggested a shopkeeper, Naseer. “Thankfully the fire broke out during the night and so lives were not in danger.”

Some of the shop owners shouted slogans against the government and deemed them responsible for the fire. The group also demanded compensation. A scuffle between shop owners and the law enforcers ensued.

Meanwhile, Empress Market Union Association president Haji Liaquat said that all the traders have been asked to list their losses which will then be passed on to the government. “We have now come down to zero,” he said. “We are hopeful that the government would help us.”

The Empress Market is run by the City District Government, Karachi — earlier it was under the now defunct Karachi Municipal Corporation.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2011.