Rs 1-cr furniture, material reduced to ashes

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 11

Furniture and foam material worth over Rs 1 crore were destroyed in a fire at the furniture market alongside the road separating Sector 53 and 54 tonight. The Fire Department received a call about the fire at 10.05 pm.

Twelve fire engines were rushed to the spot to douse the flames. After a struggle of over an hour and a half, the fire was partially brought under control. The fire-fighting operation was on at the time of filing this report. Senior officers of the MC and the UT Administration reached the spot. The road leading to the furniture market was closed for vehicles to carry out the fire-fighting operation and traffic remained disrupted for nearly two hours. The fire created panic among traders, who frantically tried to save the material in their shops.

Manish, an employee of a shop, said he saw huge flames rising from a shop. Soon, the fire spread to other shops in the lane, not giving them much time to save their material. Traders rushed to the market as soon as they got information about the fire. An official of the Fire Department said they were yet to ascertain the cause of the fire. He said around 20 shops were gutted. However, there was no loss of human life in the incident. Nine fire incidents have been reported from the market in the past 10 years. Owners of shops and their family members alleged that despite the fire incidents, the MC was doing nothing to prevent these.