Fire mishap in Guntur jute mill

Firemen put off flames after battling for four hours

A worker putting off flames at Sri Bajrang Jute Mill in Guntur on Tuesday. Photo: Vijaya Kumar

Fire broke out in Sri Bajrang Jute Mills Limited in the wee hours on Tuesday, where materials worth some lakhs of rupees was gutted. No causalities reported.

District Fire Officer (DFO) B. Nageswara Rao said that fire broke out in a block around 1 a.m. in the mill and two fire tenders from Guntur-I Collector Office compound fire station rushed to the spot and controlled flames at around 4.30 a.m.

Fire Officer K. Vinay and leading fireman M. Kodanda Rao led the operations. “We suspect electric spark caused fire in a motor in the unit. The loss of property was around Rs.10 lakh and the case is under investigation”, said Mr. Nageswara Rao.

Bajrang Jute Mills General Manager Ashok Kumar Sharma told

The Hindu said that fire occurred in the preparatory block around midnight and some raw and processed jute was reduced to ashes in the accident.

“About 600 workers were working in night shift in the mill when the mishap occurred. The reason for cause of fire is exactly not known”, said the GM.

Workers who noticed flames raised an alarm and ran helter-skelter from the mill. “In no time, the entire block was filled with thick smoke and we could not see anything. To protect ourselves we ran out”, said a worker preferring anonymity.