Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 25 Oct: Around 700 shops were reduced to ashes in a massive fire that broke out at the daily market in Naharlagun in the wee hours of Tuesday, according to the shopkeepers.
While no casualty has been reported, nothing could be salvaged from any of the shops.
The cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained, although it is suspected to have been caused by firecrackers or lamps lit for Diwali celebration, the police said.
Firefighters swung into action immediately, but, as the shops were made of bamboo and timber with dry items stored in abundance in the market, the blaze spread fast, they claimed.
Panicked shopkeepers struggled to save anything they could as exploding LPG cylinders further added fuel to the fire.
Three fire tenders, one of which was brought in from Itanagar, fought for hours to bring the blaze under control, the police said.
The extent of the damages caused by the fire is being assessed, but it is estimated to be in crores of rupees, they said.
Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) SP Jimmy Chiram said that the exact cause of the fire would be known after the completion of the investigation by the fire department.
Shopkeepers claimed that, after spotting the blaze, they rushed to the fire station nearby but no personnel could be found. They further said that, when the fire services personnel arrived, the fire tender did not have water.
To refill the fire tender, the personnel had to travel a long distance, and they could come back with water only at around 5 am, by which time most of the market was already gutted, the shopkeepers alleged.
“The police also did not act. All of them should be terminated from service for failure to perform their duties,” Naharlagun Bazar Welfare Committee president Kipa Nai said.
After speaking with the shopkeepers, Arunachal Chamber of Commerce & Industries (ACCI) president Tarh Nachung demanded that all fire personnel on duty be suspended for negligence.
“It was the failure of the government that it did not set up the minimum infrastructure required for firefighting, such as water filling points, which should immediately be made available at different locations in the ICR,” he said.
“If this is the situation in the heart of the capital, what would be the situation in the districts?” he questioned.
Itanagar MLA Techi Kaso told reporters that the market would be rebuilt by the state government in cooperation with the ACCI. “I am in constant touch with the department for immediate release of funds for the shopkeepers. Very soon, arrangements will be made for the shopkeepers to place their market near the helipad area, in a roster basis,” he said, adding that “after the permanent structure is constructed, they can be accommodated there.”
When contacted, a major leading fireman (MLF) of the Naharlagun fire station said that their office has not installed a hydrant to fetch water, either from Lekhi or Doimukh.
“After receiving information about the fire mishap, we rushed to the spot by 3:15 am and tried dousing the fire. Two to three firemen had to put our lives at risk while dousing the fire, and we also tried reaching the power division to disconnect the electricity to avoid electrocution,” the MLF said, adding that the fire station officers had also requested for a hydrant at the fire station and had suggested installing hydrants in important locations, so that time may be saved while refilling.
Some of the shops that were burnt down had been established in the mid-1970s, and many of those who had their houses attached to their shops have been rendered homeless.
The homeless shopkeepers have been provided temporary settlement at the government school in Model Village in Naharlagun.
Fire Services Assistant Director S Chakraborty and IMC Mayor Tame Phassang also visited the site.
ICR ADC Jiken Bomjen arranged immediate relief for the affected persons, and a list of the affected persons is being prepared for extending further relief.
DDMO Moromi Dodum Sonam informed that “a relief camp has been set up and activated at the government higher secondary school in Kankar Nallah to accommodate the affected people who resided in their shops, and immediate relief materials like bedding and clothing materials, food items, water, and medicines have been arranged.”
However, none of the victims had shifted to the relief camp at the time of filing this report.
The DDMO said that the district administration would provide relief assistance to the victims as per the SDRF norms. (With input from PTI & ICR DIPRO)
