Fire breaks out in commercial building in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, no casualty reported

Yogesh Singhal, head of the Bullion and Jewellers Association, said that over 80 shops were completely destroyed by the fire

A fire broke out on the top floor of a three-storey commercial building near Chandni Chowk Metro station on Sunday night, Delhi Fire Services officials said, adding that the fire spread to three other buildings in the lane and three more buildings in the next lane before being brought under control, but that no casualty has been reported so far.

Most of the shops and godowns in the commercial building were being used as warehouses for clothes, officials said. (Sanchit khanna/HT Photo)

Most of the shops and godowns in the commercial building were being used as warehouses for clothes, officials said.

Atul Garg, director, Delhi Fire Services, said the department received a call about the fire in house number 1248A near Chandni Chowk Metro station around 10.40pm on Sunday. “Six fire tenders were rushed to the site initially. When the fire call was later upgraded to serious, we sent 40 more fire tenders to douse the flames. At least 150 fire personnel were deployed at the site. The fire is under control now, but it’ll take time to douse it completely. No casualty has been reported so far. The cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained,” he said.

He added that a portion of the building had collapsed. “Due to the narrow lanes in the area, our vehicles had trouble navigating the area. We are continuing the cooling operation from the outside as a part of the building has collapsed,” he said.

Traders said over 80 shops had been destroyed in the fire. “The estimated loss is in several crores of rupees. I have been at the spot since last night. Senior police officers are also here to supervise the operation,” Yogesh Singhal, head of the Bullion and Jewellers Association, said.

Shopkeepers and residents also accused the authorities of not taking corrective measures to resolve the persisting infrastructural problems, which cause frequent fires in the area. “In the last 10 years, there have been at least three or four big fire incidents. None of the governments has ever come up with a plan to safeguard this area from the danger this poses. Even shopkeepers are not ready to let go of land so that serpentine lanes can be turned into broader roads,” Dinesh Kumar, a shopkeeper, said.

Another shopkeeper, asking not to be named, said that dousing fires in this area is not easy. “Even today (Monday), fire tenders got stuck in the lanes here, which resulted in paucity of water to control the fire. Only reconstruction of this area can avert such incidents,” he said.