E-Paper
Charred beginning to New Year for 3 Ludhiana eateries
The blaze started at one of the outlets in Feroze Gandhi market in Ludhiana due a short circuit around 2am on January 1 (New Year) and quickly spread to adjoining shops; The toughened glass partition, which separated the eateries – Datta Bhau Vada Pav, Chai Sutta Bar and Bite Crackers – also shattered after two gas cylinders exploded
New Year celebrations turned sour for three eatery owners in Feroze Gandhi market after a fire broke out at their outlets around 2am on Saturday.
The owners said the blaze started at one of the outlets due a short circuit and quickly spread to adjoining shops. The toughened glass partition, which separated the eateries – Datta Bhau Vada Pav, Chai Sutta Bar and Bite Crackers – also shattered after two gas cylinders exploded.
Fortunately, the eateries were closed at the time of the incident and no casualties were reported. The flames caused revellers who were out and about at the time to panic. The scope for tragedy was large, but luckily the eatery owners were able to safely remove five gas cylinders from the outlets, and the fire did not gut the IELTS institutions above the eateries.
The alarm was raised by an auto-rickshaw driver, who was crossing the area, and spotted smoke emanating from the outlets. “The power supply was not immediately snapped, which made the cylinders burst and the fire spread to other units,” he said.
Sub-fire officer, Maninder Singh, said, “Soon after receiving the alert, three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The flames were doused around an hour after the power supply was snapped.”
PSPCL to blame: Shopkeepers
Accusing Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials of not acting on their feet, the shopkeepers say had the power supply been disconnected at the right time, the fire would not have spread to other shops.
Vada Pav eatery owner Raman Verma says the fire broke out due to a short-circuit outside the shops, and the fire fighting was delayed for around an hour because the PSPCL employees failed to snap the power supply, despite repeated requests.
“The flames might have been doused outside my shop, and would not have spread to other shops, if only the power supply had been have snapped in time, “ he said.
PSPCL executive engineer Rakesh Kumar said no one contacted him and neither had the staff has apprised him of any such incident. “The department gets the power supply snapped by contacting the grid immediately after a fire incident is reported. There might have been some miscommunication on the part of shopkeepers. The PSPCL’s grid is situated near the DC office complex, a throw’s away from Feroze Gandhi market. The shopkeepers could have contacted the staff at the grid itself,” he said.
Market association seeks fire lane
Citing a 2019 high court order, Feroze Gandhi Market Association chairperson Col Harjap Singh (retd) demanded that a fire lane be established in the market. He also asked that the civic body decongest the parking lots in the market, by introducing hourly parking.
“The MC has failed to take any steps to ensure the safety of residents,it would have been very difficult to douse the flames reported the day,” said Singh.
