LAHORE: Twenty-eight garment shops were gutted in a fire at Muhafiz Plaza in New Anarkali on Monday.

It took the firefighters more than eight hours to extinguish the fire that had erupted in the basement of the plaza at 4:19am. It engulfed the ground floor of the building which had garments and embroidery material shops. They all were reduced to ashes.

A rescue official said the market was closed when the fire broke out. Some 40 firefighters and 25 vehicles, 13 of the Rescue 1122 and 12 from the City District Government Lahore (CDGL), participated in the operation to extinguish the fire.

The traders of Anarkali Bazaar held a protest against Rescue 1122 and the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) after the fire erupted again in the evening at the same plaza of the bazaar.

Talking to the media, the traders said the firefighters were not equipped with the latest equipment, including oxygen cylinders or firefighting foam, to control the inferno. They also alleged that the firefighters responded to the call late.

However, a Rescue 1122 official denied the allegation, saying that had reached the spot within nine minutes after receiving the call. He added that the plaza was situated at the end of the New Anarkali Bazaar and due to efforts of the firefighters the fire was contained and it could not spread to the adjacent plazas.

The traders had exchanged harsh words with rescue teams in the morning too for failing to save their shops and arriving late. The shopkeepers also helped the rescue teams in putting out the fire.

The rescue official said a short circuit in one of the shops of the plaza was likely to be the cause of the fire and added that no loss of life or injuries were reported in the incident.

The traders refuted the rescue official claim about the cause of the incident, saying the electricity wires were hanging in the bazaar and they had caused sparks which had resulted in the fire. They alleged that Lesco had not taken any notice of the situation despite complaints. They demanded the government fix the wires to avoid fire incidents in the future. They said the government should lay the electric cables underground.

The traders also demanded Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announce compensation for their losses.

New Anarkali Station House Officer Waqas Zafar said that they were clearing the site to estimate the losses when the fire erupted again in the evening. He said that they again alerted the rescue officials and started their efforts to put the blaze out.

A few days ago, a fire had broken out in a shoe factory in Timber Market on the Ravi Road.

Another such fire incident in the Anarkali Bazaar had occurred on April 1 when the fire was extinguished after nine hours. At least two people were injured and more than 15 shops were burnt as the blaze swept through the third floor of a building in the bazaar.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2017