Erbil municipality enforces regulation on storefront displays

ERBIL — The Erbil Municipality has introduced a new regulation requiring shop owners in the Langa market to keep their merchandise within designated boundaries and banning the extension of goods beyond these limits.

As part of efforts to organize the market and prevent encroachment on public property, teams coordinated with municipal police to enforce the rule across all shops in Langa Market.

According to the municipality, shop owners must keep their goods within marked lines during the day and are banned from leaving any items outside their shops overnight.

“These measures are in place to ensure public safety and protect the property of business owners from undesirable accidents,” the municipality stated.

Shopkeepers in Duhok expressed their dissatisfaction yesterday with a new provincial mandate requiring the removal of storefront curtains and the storage of all items inside after closing. In response, they temporarily closed their shops and gathered at the governorate building. After meeting with the deputy governor, they left without a resolution but but reopened their shops later in the day.

This policy aims to prevent and mitigate fires, linked to the spread of flames due to items left outside and covered by curtains. Recent fires in Duhok and Erbil have resulted in significant damage to hundreds of stores.

This year, Langa Market in Erbil experienced two significant fires, causing substantial damage to businesses.

On Feb. 27, a massive fire swept through Erbil’s Langa Market, causing extensive damage to more than 160 shops and affecting hundreds more. The blaze, which ignited around 7:30 p.m. local time, took firefighters nearly three hours to extinguish.

Just weeks later, on April 8, a second large fire hit Langa Market. The fire quickly engulfed 41 shops, with an additional five to 10 shops suffering smoke damage.

A main cause of the fires was attributed to items left by shop owners in front of their stores. Consequently, the municipality has issued several directives to prevent shop owners from using curtains and leaving their merchandise outside overnight.

Langa Market has experienced several more fires over the years, the most severe in October 2018, when close to 1,200 shops reportedly were destroyed.

However, shopkeepers in Erbil’s Langa Market offered different perspectives on the causes of the recent fires that have significantly impacted the market.

Speaking to 964media, one shopkeeper highlighted the issues of congestion and neglect within the market as primary concerns. “The market is overcrowded and neglected, and the government has forgotten to regulate it. I don’t know the exact cause, but if the situation remains as is, it could catch fire again within a month. We want the market to be organized,” he said.

Another shopkeeper identified the behavior of shopkeepers themselves as a significant issue, advocating for the prohibition of flammable materials and quick-burning substances around the shops.

The practice of some shopkeepers covering their goods with cloth to protect them was mentioned as a potential factor contributing to the fires. However, displaying goods outside the shops is seen as a normal practice in this popular market, as another shopkeeper noted, adding that similar practices are observed in neighboring markets. “Once the condition of the buildings was worse, but such fire incidents did not occur,” he added.