Daily wage workers, vendors stunned by building ruins, see loss of livelihood ahead of Ramazan, Eid
A picture of the damaged Gul Plaza Market building after a fire in Karachi. Photo: X
KARACHI:
Gul Plaza has been reduced to ashes, but the deeper tragedy is etched on the faces of the vendors and day laborers whose livelihoods depended on the building. For them, the fire has not only destroyed a marketplace – it has extinguished hope and plunged hundreds of families into anxiety, grief and uncertainty.
Outside the charred structure, workers stand in stunned silence, repeatedly pleading to be allowed inside to retrieve whatever remains of the fire. However, due to ongoing rescue operations, the authorities prevented them from entering the building, which is now in a dilapidated state.
They seemed helpless and despairing, asking each other the same haunting questions: Where are we going to find work now? What will we earn? When will the shops open again? What do we bring home to our families? With Ramazan and Eid approaching, their worries are heightened.
These voices belong to the vendors and workers who worked at Gul Plaza – men who now spend their days and nights praying that their livelihoods may somehow be restored.
“With the space, the flame in my kitchen stove went out,” said Chacha Saleem, sitting on a footpath nearby.
Saleem, a handcart operator who used to transport goods to shops and warehouses inside Gul Plaza, asked not to be photographed. Visibly broken, he said: “I am helpless. I am the sole breadwinner in my family. I have a family of wife and three daughters. We live in a rented part in Jubilee area. I used to deliver goods. How will I pay rent? How will I feed my family? I just want work.”
Ahmed Habib, who owned a toy shop in the building, said he employed five salesmen and ran a successful business. “Everything was normal just three days ago,” he said.
“I had closed my shop and left before the fire broke out. Suddenly the flames engulfed the whole building. Some people managed to escape, but we don’t know how many were trapped inside or lost their lives.”
He said the tragedy has devastated even the wealthy traders. “We do business on both cash and credit. Now everything is gone. We have fallen from heaven to earth overnight.”
Rehan, who ran a cosmetics shop for women, said his shop was completely destroyed.
“All of us traders are in terrible grief. At least our lives are saved, but financially we are finished. The government must immediately help rebuild the square. What are we going to feed our children now? Those who used to help others are now forced to seek help for themselves.”
Aman Safdar, a young resident of Lyari, described Gul Plaza as an economic hub that supports thousands of households.
“This was a trading center. Everyone is worried – especially the vendors and the workers. The Ramazan and Eid season is near, the time when business usually picks up. Instead, the fire destroyed the building and closed down businesses. This tragedy will push many families to starvation. What will we do until relief is extended?”
For Abubakar, who used to deliver homemade lunch from the Garden area to several shops, the loss is devastating.
“I earned about Rs 2,000 a day,” he said. “Now everything is gone, but I believe that when Allah closes one door, He opens another. But right now, the working class is deeply worried.”
Aman Khan, who supplied tea to the market, echoed the same despair. “Everything is destroyed. The shopkeepers used to tip. I have come from Peshawar to earn a living. Like me, everyone’s livelihood has ended. People are crying and praying that work will start again soon. The government must help.”
Raju, who worked in a service shop, urged the government to set up a temporary market or bazaar nearby, even in open ground, so that small traders and workers could restart modest businesses.
As investigations and relief efforts continue, the silent suffering of the Gul Plaza workers remains a stark reminder that behind the burned walls lie hundreds of lives struggling to survive – waiting not for sympathy, but for work, dignity and hope.
