Three shops were gutted in a major fire that broke out at Sadar Bazar in Central Delhi on Saturday evening. While property worth about Rs.4 crore was destroyed, no casualty was reported.
According to the Delhi Fire Service, the fire started around 8 p.m. in a garment shop in the Matke Wali Gali of the Sadar Bazar market. “A call was received at the fire control room at 7-50 p.m. In all, 27 fire-tenders were pressed into service. It took more than two hours for the fire officials to douse the flame completely,” said a DFS official.
The blaze spread from the garment store to a jewellery shop and a then bag shop. The fire officials said it was a medium intensity fire. “But it took us long to bring it under control as the lanes in Sadar Bazar are very narrow and there was no space for fire tenders to access the spot, said an official.
The exact cause of fire has not been ascertained yet. According to the police, prima facie it appeared that the fire started due to an electric short-circuit in the garment shop. The shop stocked woollen garments, which further spread the fire, and nearby shops were engulfed in the blaze, said a local police officer.
The businessmen in Sadar Market alleged that faulty wiring is a major problem in the market, which is prone to short-circuits. Raju Gehlot, a businessman who owns a shop in the market, said: “A similar incident occurred in this market two months ago. A shop caught fire due to short-circuit and the shop-owner had to suffer a major loss. We have written to the electricity department about this problem but they don’t act on it.”
