A fire broke out at the Nilkhet book market in Dhaka, gutting hundreds of book stalls on Tuesday evening.
Ten units from at least three fire stations in the capital managed to douse the fire at 8:50pm, as confirmed by Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence Control Room duty officer Rozina Akhter.
The Fire Service received the information at around 7:43pm and teams were dispatched immediately from Polashi, Azimpur and Lalbagh stations, she said.
Only a few stalls had been open on the outskirts of the market, which generally remains closed on Tuesday.
According to Anwar, who owns a stall, the fire generated somewhere at or near the multistoried Hazrat Shahjalal Market and spread to the other area.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses claimed that the blaze originated from a book shop named Charukola and spread to several restaurants, including the nearby Alamin Hotel and Lovely Hotel.
Lizu Ahmed Kamal, owner of Kamal Law Book House, told Dhaka Tribune that the northern flank of the Nilkhet book market and a side of Hazrat Shahjalal Market right beside it had been completely gutted.
The fire fighters struggled to move through the area as people gathered to watch the fire and bookshop owners scrambled to relocate their stocks.
The fire caused a hold-up on the streets as well with vehicular movement around Nilkhet, New Market, Azimpur and Katabon significantly hampered.
