Bandipora: At least 35 shops and five houses were gutted in a major fire incident in this north Kashmir town on Monday. Property worth crores of rupees was damaged in the blaze.
Police said fire started at around 5 am near Gulshan Chowk, Bandipora and engulfed entire Khadim market within no time. It took firefighters few hours to control the flames.
Police, army and paramilitary forces assisted the firemen in dousing the flames.
At least 35 shops and five houses were gutted in the blaze. However, no loss of life or injury was reported in this incident.
According to estimates, property worth more crores of rupees was damaged in the blaze.
The locals said the town has only two fire tenderers and both were without water. “After reaching the spot, the firemen were desperately searching for water. By the time authorities pressed more fire fighters into service from Ajas, Sumbal and Hajan, the flames had caused major damage,” they said.
A senior police officer Bashir Ahmad said 28 shops were gutted in the fire incident. “Most of the items and goods in shops were damaged,” he said adding cause of the fire is being ascertained.
Meanwhile, the Trader’s Federation has demanded compensation to the affected shopkeepers. “The shopkeepers, whose shops were destroyed in the fire incident should be provided adequate compensation so that they can start their business afresh. If government fails to meet our demands, we will go on an indefinite strike,” the Federation members said.
MLA Bandipore, Nizamuddin Bhat and Congress leader Usman Majid have urged government to provide immediate relief to the affected people so that they don’t face any hardships.
In another fire incident, 10 shops were partially gutted due to short circuit in a double-storey shopping complex of Ghulam Ahmad Dagga at Fruit Mandi, Parimpora in outskirts of Srinagar. “10 shops were partially gutted and the firemen prevented the fire from spreading to adjoining structures,” police said.
In a separate incident, fire broke out at a shop in main market Bijbehara town in Islamabad district. “The fire engulfed three adjacent shops, causing partial damage to them,” police said adding that the cause of the fire is yet to be known.
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