Shopkeepers at Numaish at their wits’ end

Rue loss of property worth crores; they allege the response to douse flames was not quick enough

Shopkeepers and visitors stand dazed outside the exhibition grounds.

Hundreds of traders, who had set up makeshift shops at the prestigious All India Industrial Exhibition at Nampally, had their hopes shattered on Thursday night when fire destroyed property worth crores.

Many had come here from different parts of the country, including Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, in the hopes of expanding their trade.

The vast Numaish grounds was teeming with visitors and shoppers, while unsuspecting shopkeepers were busy selling their wares when fire blazed through the banking kiosk zone. Traders had no chance to salvage the material and they rushed out to save their lives with nothing but the clothes on their back. Within moments, their shops were reduced to ashes.

Scenes of despair could be seen all over the place. Traders with fledgling business broke down as the stocks that they had brought, worth lakhs, in hopes of doing a good business went up in flames.

Sangeetha from Rajkot was in tears as her stall were completely destroyed. “I salvaged some material and put it in a stall at another corner, but that too burned down completely,” she said trying to fight back tears. Her husband was too dazed to comfort her.

A young entrepreneur who identified himself as Sameer, a city resident, was distraught. With great difficulty, he had set up a textile stall – S.Q.S. Handloom – with his brother. He could not bear to think of what would happen next.

Argument with police

Soon after the flames were brought under control, the shopkeepers got into an argument with the police. For they wanted them to salvage whatever little remained as they feared it would be stolen. After a terse exchange of words, they were allowed to enter the exhibition grounds. Allegations by those present flew thick and fast. While some said that the response to douse flames was not quick enough, others claimed that one of the fire engines stationed at Numaish did not have sufficient water. However, the latter could not be confirmed.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) authorities said they ran services till midnight free of charge to ferry visitors to the exhibition.

Numaish closed today

The Numaish would remain closed on Thursday, a member of the All India Industrial Exhibition Society said on Wednesday night. “We will meet on Thursday to access what exactly happened and come up with measures to deal with the situation,” he added.