KASUR: Three persons received minor burns and at least 30 shops were reduced to ashes in a fire the Kasur Model Bazaar near Old Lorry Adda on Sunday.

The fire erupted at one of the shops in the bazaar, adjacent to a petrol filling station in the heart of the city. It soon engulfed the other surrounding shops, including those of garments, home appliances, shoes and decoration pieces. Some shops were also set for Eid shopping.

According to the eyewitnesses, the locals tried to put the fire out with water and sand but that did little help.

The firefighters took about two hours to put the fire out but not before the entire shops had been reduced to ashes. The loss of property was estimated to be Rs25m.

According to Rescue 1122, the cause of fire was yet to be ascertained but it was possibly triggered by a short circuit. The premises of the Model Bazaar are also serving as Ramazan bazaar and Friday Sasta Bazaar.

Talking to the media, the affected shopkeepers said the administration had only provided them with the space for setting up shops and asked them to make wooden structures instead of concrete. They said if the shops were of concrete, there might not have been such a big loss. They blamed Rescue 1122 that had earlier sent only one fire truck and other two vehicles were sent on their hue and cry. When more vehicles arrived, the fire had engulfed all the shops.

This is the second fire incident in Kasur within a couple of days. On Saturday, about a dozen furniture shops were gutted in Pattoki near Kasur Adda reportedly due to a short circuit. The loss of property was estimated to be Rs10m.

INJURED: Four employees of a cold store were injured when 15 suspects attacked the storage facility over a trifle at village Chena Hithar.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2018