Daily workers and vendors stunned by ruins of buildings see their livelihoods lost ahead of Ramazan and Eid
A view of the damaged Gul Plaza market building after a fire in Karachi. Photo:X
KARACHI:
Gul Plaza was reduced to ashes, but the deepest tragedy is etched on the faces of the vendors and day laborers whose livelihoods depended on the building. For them, the fire didn’t just destroy a market: it extinguished all hope, plunging hundreds of families into anxiety, grief and uncertainty.
Outside the charred structure, workers stand in stunned silence, repeatedly begging to be allowed inside to salvage what little might have been left after the fire. However, due to the ongoing rescue operations, the authorities denied them access to the building which is now in a state of disrepair.
They seemed helpless and distraught, asking the same haunting questions: Where will we find work now? What will we gain? When will stores reopen? What will we bring home for our families? As Ramazan and Eid approach, their concerns have intensified.
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 can somehow be restored.
“With the place, the flame of my stove went out,” said Chacha Saleem sitting on a nearby sidewalk.
Saleem, a handcart driver who transported goods to shops and warehouses in Gul Plaza, pleaded not to be photographed.
Visibly broken, he said: “I am helpless. I am the sole breadwinner of my family. I have a family consisting of a wife and three daughters. We live in a rented part in Jubilee area. I used to deliver goods. How will I pay the rent? How will I feed my family? I just want a job.”
Ahmed Habib, owner of a toy store in the building, said he employed five salespeople and ran a successful business.
“Everything was normal just three days ago,” he said. “I had closed my store and left before the fire broke out. Suddenly, the flames engulfed the entire building. Some people managed to escape, but we don’t know how many were stuck inside or lost their lives.”
According to him, the tragedy has ruined even rich traders. “We do business both on cash and on credit. Now everything is gone. We fell from the sky to the earth overnight.”
Rehan, who ran a women’s cosmetics store, said his store was completely destroyed.
“All of us traders are experiencing terrible grief. At least our lives are saved, but economically we are finished. The government must immediately help rebuild the place. What are we going to feed our children with now? Those who helped others are now forced to ask for help for themselves.”
Aman Safdar, a young resident of Lyari, described Gul Plaza as an economic hub housing thousands of households.
“It was a shopping mall. Everyone is worried, especially the sellers and workers. The Ramazan and Eid season is near, the time when business usually picks up. Instead, the fire destroyed the building and closed the businesses. This tragedy will push many families into hunger. What will we do until help is extended?”
For Abubakar, who supplied homemade lunches from the Garden area to several stores, the loss is devastating.
“I earned around 2,000 rupees a day,” he says. “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. Shopkeepers were tipping. I came from Peshawar to earn a living. Like me, everyone has lost their livelihood. People are crying, praying that work will resume soon. The government must help.”
Raju, who worked in a crockery shop, urged the government to set up a temporary market or bazaar nearby, even in the wilderness, so that small traders and workers could restart modest businesses.
As investigations and relief efforts continue, the silent suffering of Gul Plaza workers is a stark reminder that beyond the burned walls lie hundreds of lives struggling to survive – waiting not for sympathy, but for work, dignity and hope.
