Blaze breaks out in Ludhiana’s vegetable market

Godowns unscathed, fire department yet to determine cause for the blaze

A fire broke out in sabzi mandi near the Jalandhar Bypass around 10.30pm here on Monday.

Fire blazing in Sabzi Mandi near Jalandhar Bypass in Ludhiana on Sunday. Five fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames. It took two hours to bring the fire under control. (HT PHOTO)

The reason behind the blaze has not been determined yet. The thousands of wooden and plastic crates lined up at the market added fuel to the fire.

Five fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames. It took two hours to bring the fire under control.

Sub-fire officer Atish Rai said, “Timely action was taken and the crates that had not caught fire by the time we arrived were removed.”

Rai, while maintaining that the cause for the blaze had not been determined, did not rule out foul play.

Fruit Mandi Arhtiya Association president Kamal Gumber said the loss was being assessed.

“The crates that caught fire were being used to distribute fruits among the vendors,” he said, while thanking the fire department and alert workers present on the spot.

“Had the godowns been gutted, the loss would have been irreparable,” he said.

SOURCE OF INFECTION

Ludhiana’s main vegetable market has been mired in controversy for blatant violation of guidelines, which led to Punjab Police assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Anil Kohli catching the deadly virus, which claimed his life, during crowd control duty.

The ACP’s wife, Palak, Jodhewal station house officer Arshpreet Kaur, her driver assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Sukhdev Singh, a police constable Prabhjot Singh, district mandi officer Jasvir Kaur, her daughter block development and panchayat officer Navdeep Kaur and latter’s husband food supply inspector Prabhjot Kuar were all subsequently tested positive for the virus and are undergoing treatment.