Massive fire breaks out in Adani Group's godown in Saharanpur

Firemen from Saharanpur and nearby five districts worked for around 12 hours and could control only 70 per cent of the fire. The reason as to why the fire broke out is not known till now, police said.

Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh): A fire broke out in a godown owned by the Adani Group in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur on Saturday. Twelve fire tenders from six districts were pressed into service but despite working hard for 12 hours, only 70 per cent of the fire could be extinguished. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained till now, firemen said.

According to police, the fire spread due to the tins of ghee and oil that were kept inside the godown. The Adani Group's godown is located in Rasulpur on Behat Road in Saharanpur district and spans on seven bighas in a dense settlement. Flour, sugar, oil and other products of the company were stored here.

Products are transported from the godown to the markets in Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh. On Saturday, people of the area suddenly noticed smoke billowing from the godown and informed the fire department. Soon fire tenders from Saharanpur fire station reached the spot. However as the fire could not be doused, people from 50 nearby houses started running away from their homes in panic.

Saharanpur Chief Fire Officer Pratap Singh said that he received information about a fire in the godown at around 1 am. On reaching the spot, efforts were made to douse the flames but seeing nature of the fire, information was given to Lucknow Headquarters. Following which, fire tenders from Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Shamli, Amroha and Bijnor districts reached the spot and worked together to extinguish the fire.

However, due to the presence of a tin shed in the godown, the firefighters faced a huge difficulty. Later, cranes were brought in and were deployed for dousing the fire. A total of 12 fire tenders worked for around 12 hours after which, about 70 per cent of the fire could be controlled, a fire official said.