Kanpur: At least 500 shops were gutted in a fire that broke out in a cloth market at Kanpur's Bansmandi, during the small hours on Thursday. Several crores worth of property were damaged in the fire. The cloth and other materials stocked for sale were gutted in the fire that raged for hours.
The fire was doused completely late on Friday morning. The Uttar Pradesh Garments Manufacturers and Traders Association Regional General Secretary Gurjinder Singh said that the fire was caused due to a short circuit at a transformer. The transformer installed outside the AR Tower caught fire at around 00.45 am on Friday. The security personnel of Nafees Tower informed the police, who in turn alerted the fire and rescue services personnel.
Within few minutes, the fire engulfed the entire market. By the time, the fire tenders arrived at the spot, the fire had already spread to at least 100 shops in the market in AR Tower. Singh added that apart from clothes, cardboard boxes, paper and cords for packing the boxes were also stored in the shops. It is said the shopkeepers have increased their stock in view of the ensuing Eid festivities..
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Police said the fire that broke out in the AR Tower at around 1 am spread to the Nafees Tower and Hamraj Complex. We rushed to the spot after getting information along with the fire brigade teams, the police official said. There was sudden spurt in the winds which aggravated the fire. The winds hampered the fire fighting exercise. It became difficult for the fire personnel to douse the fire. As the fire continued to rage, fire service official BP Jogdand called for back up fire tenders from the neighbouring districts. Finally, the fire was put out after hours of ordeal.
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav has demanded compensation for the traders from the government. The SP supremo attacked the state government on Twitter saying, "The fire in the Kanpur textile market is another deep blow, financially and emotionally, to the traders who are already facing the brunt of demonetisation, GST raids and recession. The UP BJP government should immediately announce compensation after assessing the loss caused to these traders. There is also a need to assess the capacity of the fire brigades."
