'Left without work'

Month on from fire, Qaysari Bazaar shopkeepers rue pace of reconstruction

ERBIL — Shopkeepers from Erbil’s historic Qaysari Bazaar, which was severely damaged by fire nearly a month ago, gathered today to express their frustration over the slow pace of reconstruction. The fire on May 5 destroyed 227 shops and seven warehouses, injuring 132 people, and significant progress on repairs has yet to be made.

During the gathering, affected shopkeepers voiced their concerns, noting that even basic clean-up efforts have been minimal and reconstruction has barely started. Last week, they had protested in front of the Erbil Governorate building demanding accelerated efforts.

Salar Taha, a fabric store owner in the bazaar, told 964media, “We have been left without work. People cannot live even a day without work, and we have been without work for a month. We cannot manage our lives in this situation.”

Bakhtiar Othman, another shop owner, added, “It has been a month since the bazaar burned, and only debris and waste have been removed. They say the old part of the bazaar is of heritage significance, and the government will handle its reconstruction, but the work is proceeding very slowly.”

Statistics from Erbil Civil Defense indicate that the city has experienced an average of nearly three fire incidents per day over the past five months, totaling 407 incidents. Of these, 33 involved markets and shops.

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