20221125 Delhi: 7 hours on, fire fighting still under way at Chandni Chowk
India Nov 25 2022 “Building”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Delhi: 7 hours on, fire fighting still under way at Chandni Chowk
Updated: 2022-11-25
NEW DELHI: A massive fire broke out at Bhagirath Palace, the popular electricals and lights market in Chandni chowk on Thursday night. Around 35 fire tenders were rushed to the location as the blaze category was deemed to be ‘serious’ with the flames spreading rapidly to adjacent buildings.
The fire was yet to be brought under control even at 7:45am on Friday.
Remote control machine were also deployed for fire fighting, said Atul Garg, director, Delhi fire services.
The electricity supply in the area was disconnected to prevent the spread of the fire. The area is notorious for dangling power lines, which present great risk in circumstances like this. The operations ran into problems with water running out. Water was being sourced from the Metro station and other locations.
According to Delhi Fire Service, a call was received around 9:21pm about a fire at shop No. 1868 in Chandni Chowk near the gurdwara at Bhagirathi Palace. Fire officials said the fire assumed ‘serious’ dimensions within an hour as it spread rapidly to other buildings.
Due to the narrow roads, the firemen had problems reversing their vehicles. This forced policemen to take the help of local people in removing the decorative stone bollards to make passage and reversing easier for the fire engines.
When the fire tenders arrived, the market was engulfed in a thick layer of smoke and flames could be seen orange bright in the night sky. The fire spread from the two initial shops to the adjacent 3-4 buildings, each consisting of 25-50 shops. When TOI reached the blaze site, it saw traders begging firemen to save their shops.
Ajay Sharma, president, Bhagirath Palace Market Association, said, “The fire started in two shops, Pradeep Lights and AR Electricals. The first sells fancy lights, the second appliances. The cause of the fire was a short circuit.” Manoj Gandhi, an electrical shop owner, added, “It all started around 8pm. The fire spread when the packaging material lying around burst into flames.”
Senior police officers were present at the location. Harsh Vardhan, MP from Chandni Chowk constituency, also arrived to take stock of the situation.
Yogesh Singhal, chairman, Bullion and Jewellers Association, Kucha Mahajani, said, “On September 4, there was a fire in the Kucha Natwa cloth market. There was a massive fire in the Gandhi Nagar cloth market as well. The cause is often a short circuit. The narrow lanes here make firefighting a tough task. In the process, traders lose stock worth lakhs of rupees.”
Singhal said the traders in the area had been pleading with the government to take steps to contain such fires. He said they had made two suggestions, the first to install a water line and have a borewell in the narrow lanes, both to douse fires and to make water accessible to fire engines. The second suggestion was to thoroughly check the electrical fittings for load capacity and existence of circuit breaker.
Web Source: The Times of India