A nightmare for residents

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 14

Residents of New Lajpat Nagar on Noorwala Road panicked as they woke up to a hue and cry raised by people living in houses adjoining to the factories where a fire broke out today.

Residents living close to the burning factories were seen clinging to their doors in fear that the fire might spread to their dwellings or these could suffer damage in case the burning factories collapsed. The families were curiously talking to each other about the consequences if the factories collapsed.

Rajrani, who lived in a house opposite the factories, says around 3 am, she heard loud noises in the street. She went to the rooftop and “was stunned to see the burning factories. Labourers were running in panic. There was a huge fire in the three-storey building housing two hosiery units. The raging fire had lit up the entire area”.

Mahinder Kaur, another resident, said when the fire broke out, a few labourers knocked the doors of houses as they wanted to know the toll-free number of the fire brigade. “Labourers were seen shifting goods lying inside the factories and dumping them on the street. There was chaos all over. Since we live close to the factory, we felt the intense heat arising from the burning factories,” said Mahinder Kaur.

Blast in compressor stoked the fire

The fire broke out at Vinayak Fabric and a blast in the compressor stoked the fire that engulfed the goods kept inside and outside the factory. The glass windows of the adjoining hosiery, AK Sanan Knitwears, which shared its wall with Vinayak Fabrics, gave way due to the heat and the fire spread to the factory. The finished goods and yarn lying near the window caught fire and in no time, the entire three-storey hosiery turned into a raging inferno. 

Windows of discord

“When AK Sanan built this factory about three decades back, the local residents objected to the windows at the back. The same windows caused him a huge loss,” said a few factory owners, requesting anonymity.