SARGODHA: A fire that broke out in a commercial market in block no 1 on Tuesday was extinguished after efforts of at least 10 hours.

Rescue teams and police were present at the site of the fire till Wednesday evening and reluctant to allow shopkeepers near their shops due to congestion in the area and storage of inflammable material in a plaza.

The city administration arranged heavy machinery to remove debris from the area and as per a preliminary inquiry, over 150 shops were damaged, while a short circuit was ascertained as the cause of the fire.

Such fire incidents in congested commercial areas of the city were a routine every year and most of them were caused by short circuits.

A shopkeeper claiming anonymity told this correspondent that illegal construction of a shopping plaza and encroachments were the main reasons for such destruction. Major shops with the connivance of employees of the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) had installed double connections and enjoyed uninterrupted power supply during loadshedding; the negligence of such shopkeepers may have caused the short circuit.

The affected shopkeepers blamed Fesco for poor service and late arrival of the rescue teams. Meanwhile, Fesco authorities and rescuers blamed the traders, who constructed a shopping plaza without taking any safety measures, andencroachments as the main hurdles in the rescue operation.

Rescue 1122 staff said they started an operation on Tuesday without any delay, but despite getting help from the air force base here, the fire had reached the inflammable material stored in the shops and upper story of a plaza, adding that the narrow passage in the market hampered the operation. Despite all the constraints, they said, they controlled the fire in a short time. They suggested removal of encroachments and installation of anti-fire equipment in each shop.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar took notice of the incident and sought a report from the administration.

Commissioner Dr Farah Masood visited the site and listened to the problems of the shopkeepers, who demanded compensation, and she assured them of all possible help. She directed a thorough probe into and removal of illegal constructions and encroachments creating hurdles in rescue operations.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2020