Handicrafts products worth over Rs 60 crore were reduced to ashes in a fire at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Tughlakabad here this morning, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts said.
The fire broke out at the ICD at around 0545 hrs in an export warehouse and quickly spread to the cargo stored there for completion of customs formalities and other procedures.
At least 30 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire, which took about three hours to extinguish, the fire brigade said.
“Handicrafts products worth over Rs 60 crore were gutted in the fire,” EPCH Chairman Raj Kumar Malhotra said.
The ICD is always over congested, as more than 400 containers of goods are stored there against the capacity of just 200, he said.
He has alleged that there “were no proper precautionary fire—fighting measures at the ICD“.
EPCH has demanded that the Container Corporation of India (CCI) pay for the losses incurred by exporters without any delay on the basis of the shipping bills.
“Handicrafts is a small—scale business and many fellow exporters have very limited capital. This loss will affect small exporters and may even lead to closure of their businesses,” he said.
The council claims that besides handicraft items, other goods were also damaged in the fire.
