E-Paper
Fire destroys 46 shops, restaurants in Kashmir’s Sonamarg
Officials said that the fire destroyed a chain of shops, restaurants and small hotels in Sonamarg and the damage was severe owing to the lack of a fire service station in the region
Srinagar: At least 46 structures were destroyed in a devastating fire incident in the tourist resort of Sonamarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal on Saturday night.
Officials said that the arson destroyed a chain of shops, restaurants and small hotels in Sonamarg. They said that the damage was severe owing to the lack of a fire service station in the region.
The fire started from Hotel Sounsar in Sonamarg’s main market and quickly spread to adjacent shops, damaging numerous structures worth crores of rupees. The first responders to the disaster were locals.
“A fire destroyed at least 46 shops, restaurants and small hotels last night. It was a very unfortunate incident,” said chief executive officer (CEO) of Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA), G M Bhat.
Officials and Kangan MLA Mehar Ali visited the area to take stock of the situation.
“All the help will be provided-- from financial assistance to everything else. This is my family. Till they get their structures back, we will not back down,” Ali said.
He said that he was in touch with the chief minister for providing compensation to the affected.
“CM office is also in contact which is trying to bring it under SDRF. Whatever help can be done will be provided. Now the govt has identified land for the fire service station on which work will be started soon. Till that they will be get a temporary space for the service,” he said.
“Those who have bank loan, they will also be helped to manage that,” he said.
He said that in the meeting with divisional commissioner Kashmir officials were advised to help the shop keepers to get their insurance cover.
“No shop keeper among them has insurance cover. Div Com advised CEO to register them with SDA so that their insurance process can be started. He has also advised to start the work on rebuilding the two storey structure,” Ali said.
The MLA blamed CEO SDA for not giving space to a fire service station in the region when he was asked earlier for the same.
“It is unfortunate that there is no fire service station in Kangan. Earlier a deputation had come to me demanding a fire service station. I conveyed it to ADG fire service who sent their teams. I talked to CEO SDA for space for the station who didn’t provide the space. If they had provided space this would not have happened. This is unfortunate that he didn’t comply. It is unfortunate that in 2025 this place doesn’t have a fire service station,” Ali said.
CEO Bhat said that they had already conveyed to fire and emergency service for the station here.
“We have tried time and again for fire service. When it came to my notice , we have already taken up the matter with fire and emergency services. We have been in correspondence with them since 2021 and till now there has not been any tender for the start of work. SDA should not be blamed for none of their faults,” he said.
“It is true that there should have been a fire and emergency service station here. The SDA was established in 2004 and there have been many fire incidents since then. In 2007, there was a major incident. In 2016 another, almost all the Sonamarg market was damaged,” he stated.
Meanwhile, DC Ganderbal and Divisional Commissioner also visited the area for the damage assessment. The Div Com emphasized the need for a Fire Safety Audit of all establishments in Sonamarg to mitigate future risks. He urged hoteliers and shopkeepers to equip their establishments with fire extinguishers as a precautionary measure.
Div Com assured that the administration remains committed to supporting the business community in Sonamarg and ensuring their swift recovery from this unfortunate incident.
While interacting with the Shopkeepers, Div Com maintained that administration reaffirmed its dedication to enhancing fire safety infrastructure in Sonamarg, with land already identified for a permanent fire service station to ensure a quicker response to emergencies in the future.
