Factory gutted in Panchkula, loss worth crores feared

A medical equipment and pharmaceutical factory was gutted in Panchkula's Industrial Area, Phase 1, as a suspected short-circuit in the wee hours of Thursday led to a blaze that lasted 12 hours.

A medical equipment and pharmaceutical factory was gutted in Panchkula's Industrial Area, Phase 1, as a suspected short-circuit in the wee hours of Thursday led to a blaze that lasted 12 hours. There were no casualties as the fire broke out during off-duty hours, but officials of the factory-owning firm -- Recorders and Medicare Systems Private Limited - put the monetary loss at Rs 40 crore, though independent assessment was not carried out yet.

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The fire was reported around 3am by a security guard who saw flames emerging. In all, 10 fire-tenders were pressed into service - eight from Panchkula and one each from Chandigarh and Kalka - but the flames were put out only around 3pm.

Factory in-charges DV Singh and KK Grover said the whole factory and machine were gutted. They said that though it was difficult to estimate the loss, it won't be less than Rs 40 crore. The cost of each machine that was reduced to ashes ranged from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. The company has about 250 employees, but fortunately the fire broke out at a time when none was on duty. Besides all the machines, equipment in the store and around 200 computers were also destroyed.

Established in 1975, the firm has been running in Panchkula for several years. It had a sister concern in Baddi (Himachal Pradehs) that was closed down a year ago and the business from there merged with the factory in Panchkula.