Dolmen, Atrium malls offer free space to help Gul Plaza retailers rebuild after fire

Major shopping malls in Karachi have stepped forward to support traders affected by the deadly Gul Plaza fire, offering free retail and exhibition space to help businesses resume operations.

Dolmen Mall announced on social media that it is providing free space to Gul Plaza retailers as part of efforts to help them rebuild their businesses following the blaze.

“In support of our retail community, Dolmen Mall is offering free space to Gul Plaza retailers as a step towards rebuilding their businesses,” the mall said.

Atrium Mall has also expressed solidarity with affected traders, announcing that it will offer free exhibition stalls to help shopkeepers restart their operations.

“Atrium Mall stands in solidarity with the retail community. We are offering free exhibition stalls to help the retailers of Gul Plaza resume their business operations after the recent fire,” the mall said, adding, “Together, we rebuild and support each other.”

READ MORE: Foreign missions express condolences over Gul Plaza fire in Karachi

In addition to physical retail support, private sector voices have proposed digital solutions for long-term recovery.

Entrepreneur and Highfy founder and CEO Hanzala Raja suggested creating a shared online marketplace that mirrors Gul Plaza’s physical ecosystem.

In a LinkedIn post,  Raja said many Gul Plaza shops depended on collective footfall and could not survive as standalone online stores due to low margins, limited assortments and high customer acquisition costs.

“You didn’t visit one shop. You visited the place,” he wrote, proposing a single digital platform where all traders could operate under one website while retaining their shop identities.

Raja said he has secured the domains gulplazashopping.com and gulplazashopping.pk and is willing to hand them over to a capable team to take the initiative forward, adding that his team would help connect with agencies, tools, and influencers to generate early traffic.

The support initiatives come as the death toll from the Gul Plaza inferno is feared to rise further.

READ MORE: Gul Plaza blaze: multiple bodies recovered from single shop, death toll likely to climb

According to police, rescue teams recovered 20 to 30 bodies from a single crockery shop on the mezzanine floor during search operations on Wednesday, with human remains also found at the site.

The fire broke out late Saturday at the multi-storey Gul Plaza shopping centre in Karachi’s business district and burned for more than 24 hours, severely hampering rescue efforts.

By Sunday evening, large sections of the building had collapsed, leaving twisted metal, debris, fallen air-conditioning units and shop signboards scattered across nearby streets.

Rescue workers have warned that the remaining structure is unstable and could collapse further as search and recovery operations continue.