Police tell Sarojini Nagar traders to clear rooftop storage spaces over fire risk

Police said that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal temperatures this year, which, coupled with increased heat on rooftops due to the placement of air-conditioner outdoor units, put these storage units at a high risk of catching fire

Delhi Police asked traders at the Sarojini Market to vacate rooftops that are being used as storage areas, given the potential for a fire due to combustible materials being stored under direct sunlight amid rising summer temperatures, trader bodies said on Monday.

A view of the Bapu Market at Sarojini Nagar. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The storage spaces are illegal makeshift constructions to store products like clothes and cartons, which are highly combustible, turning the commercial hub into a fire hazard, Delhi Police said in a letter to the market associations. In turn, the associations contended they were being unfairly targeted as the process for regularising these spaces was underway.

“It is submitted that on April 18, 2024, the undersigned physically checked roof of all the shops of mini market and it was found that so many of shopkeepers have made their stores on their roofs containing clothes and paper cartons, etc, which are highly combustible materials. That all these stores are illegally constructed without permission from any department and they are not allowed,” a Delhi Police division officer told the market association in a communique dated April 22.

Police said that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal temperatures this year, which, coupled with increased heat on rooftops due to the placement of air-conditioner outdoor units, put these storage units at a high risk of catching fire. The communique asked traders to clear the rooftops, warning of strict action against violators.

The Sarojini Nagar market has four main constituents: a main market, comprising 200 shops, Babu Market, comprising 120 shops, Sarojini Nagar Mini Market, comprising 32 shops, Thareja Street Vendors, comprising 104 outlets, and a large number of other street vendors.

Similar notices were sent to the Babu Market, traders said.

Ashok Randhawa, who heads the Mini Market Traders’ Association — one of the four constituent market associations— said police also asked for the removal of AC vents. Randhawa said “this is practically not possible” and that the market association was already in the process of getting sanctions for storage spaces from the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

“It is not Delhi Police work to look into these matters. NDMC has provided storage space to markets on first floors at Janpath Market, Tibet Market, Yashwant Place and Shankar Market. We have also submitted maps for approval and we are being unfairly targeted,” Randhawa said.

“We have small 8X8 feet shops and we need storage space to keep the material. Sarojini Nagar is suffering from dust pollution caused by the redevelopment project. What have they done to tackle that problem?” he said.

NDMC officials did not comment on the issue.

Sarojini Nagar market is an L&DO (Land and Development Office) market that was constructed in 1951 and was previously known as Vinay Marg Sub District Centre. The Sarojini Nagar Market was a non-hierarchical commercial centre in the 1990s.