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Mega blaze reduces Panchkula Sector 9 rehri market to ashes
The fire broke out around 11pm and engulfed the entire market within a matter of hours. It took around 22 water tankers and nearly six hours to douse the flames, but smaller fires kept erupting from different spots up until 1pm on Friday. As many as 10 fire tenders from Panchkula, three from Chandigarh and two from Mohali were put into service.
The entire rehri market of Sector-9, Panchkula, was reduced to ashes overnight, impacting the livelihood of over 600 persons employed in 148 shops here. However, no casualty was reported.
The fire broke out around 11pm and engulfed the entire market within a matter of hours. It took around 22 water tankers and nearly six hours to douse the flames, but smaller fires kept erupting from different spots up until 1pm on Friday.
Panchkula fire station officer Tarsem Singh said they received an alert about the fire around 11.13pm on Thursday and within 10 minutes, the first vehicle had reached the spot. “The fire officer called for more help, and immediately a second fire tender was sent. After that, there was no stopping, one after the other, fire tenders were called in from across the tricity.”
As many as 10 fire tenders from Panchkula, three from Chandigarh and two from Mohali were put into service.
Water tankers’ arrival delayed, say shopkeepers
Mohan Lal, the owner of a scooter repair shop (No. 124), said that around 11pm, his son got a call that smoke was billowing out of an electronics shops adjacent their shop. “We reached there within 15 minutes and found that the fire had spread to two more shops, including ours.”
He said the first fire tender came around 11:30pm. “They focused on dousing the fire from the front, whereas the flames had spread to the other side of the shop as well. Within minutes their tanker got empty and it took 15-20 minutes for another water tanker to reach,” he said. Lal added: “The fire spread from these two shops to five others within a span of 15 minutes.”
A few other shopkeepers also stated that the delay in arrival of water tankers was the reason behind the disaster.
Tin shops, congested market with no fire safety measure
The fire officer listed out other reasons for the rapid spread of fire to 148 shops. “The shops are made of tin, which heats up fast. Also, it is a congested market, with no fire-safety measures.”
“There is a dhabha, cloth shops, electronic shops, vehicle repair shops – all at one small place. The fire started either from an electronics shop or scooter repair shop, both had highly combustible materials stored inside. Batteries burst, cylinders exploded, and there was also fuel which fed the fire. Combustible material was placed on rooftops too,” he said.
There are four to five such rehri markets, authorised by the Panchkula administration.
The officer said the department has written to higher-ups several times regarding the risky conditions at these markets but to no avail.
He added: “There was no proper passage, fire wall, or extinguishers. Shops need to have some space between them. There is also loose electrical wiring all across.”
Sector-9 market association president Ramesh Rana said, “We have written numerous letters to authorities to make cemented shops and change the electrical fittings. Even today, we requested the CM to convert tin shops into cemented ones.”
“Everything is destroyed,” said Raman Kumar, while searching for some leftover tools of his electronic shop. He has been running an electronics shop for over 15 years. “I have incurred a loss of around ₹20 lakh. Many electronic items, TV sets that had been brought for repair. What will I tell my clients?” a worried Raman asked.
Satya Narayan, who has been running a cosmetics shop here since 1988, said, “The shops were stocked up as the festival season is nearing.”
A few steps into the market, a woman, who was searching the debris, found a Ganesh idol made of brass. Pooja Bhatia’s shop “Gareeba di hatti” was loaded with items needed for prayers, hymns. She got a call at 11pm on Thursday night that the market had caught fire. There were some, who couldn’t even locate their shops. Bans Raj Gupta, couldn’t even find traces of his grocery shop, which he had been running for 30 years.
CM visits the market, grants â‚ą25,000 for every shop
CM Manohar Lal Khattar visited the market in the evening and granted ₹25,000 help for every shopkeeper. Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal has constituted a committee to provide the amount to the shopkeepers within a day or two. The association member said: “We are opening a common account in the name of the market. All shops, 148, were gutted. Every shop has four to five workers, which means around 600 families have been impacted. Whoever wants to help can donate there. Many leaders have assured financial help.”
