Shops at Zirakpur sabzi mandi go up in flames

Amarjot Kaur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 17

A fire broke out at the Zirakpur sabzi mandi ahead of the Zirakpur-Patiala chowk around 9.45 pm today. While no casualty was reported, the market, consisting of temporary stalls of mainly vegetables, cosmetics and clothes, was reduced to ashes. It took two teams of firefighters over two hours to control the fire.

People from nearby shops said they saw the mandi go up in flames soon after the shopkeepers closed their stalls. Madan Limbu, who owns a shop near the market, said, “The fire spread across the mandi within minutes and people started gathering around the site. No one knows what triggered the fire.”

Eyewitnesses said the fire brigade arrived an hour after the incident. “I had called up the Fire Department at 10 pm, but firefighters arrived after an hour. Most of the damage had been done by then,” he said.

Kallu, who sells groundnuts at the mandi, had just wound up his business and returned home to have dinner when he learnt about the incident. “I was having dinner when I got to know about the fire. The mandi shuts down at 9.30 pm. Though the fire didn’t reach my shop, all shops facing the main road were burnt by the time I reached there,” he said.

Gurjeet Singh, SHO, confirmed that there was no casualty. “We reached the spot within five minutes after receiving a call at 10.40 pm. None of the shops could be saved,” he said.

Manjit Singh, fire officer, Dera Bassi, said the department received a call at 10.10 pm. “Within 30 seconds, a fire engine was dispatched. Later, we were told that another fire engine is needed. We sent two teams from the department to battle the fire.”

Two cylinders reportedly burst during the fire. Eyewitnesses said the fire might have been caused by gas leakage or a short circuit. However, according to the police, the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.