Major fire breaks out at hosiery unit

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 14

A major fire broke out at a hosiery unit, Vijay Apparels, in Pipal Wala chowk in Daresi here this morning. Loss of goods and machinery worth several lakhs was reported in the incident.

Building constructed in 1935, say residents

As per information, the two storey-building is owned by Mohan Lal Trust and Vidya Parchar Trust. The ground floor of the building was given on rent to Bhavesh Yarns, while the first floor was given to Vijay Apparels, which manufactures woollens. The third floor is lying vacant due its dilapidated condition. Daresi residents said the building was constructed in 1935 and it was in a poor condition. The residents said they had urged the Trust several times that it should either repair the building or get it vacated to prevent any untoward incident, but all their pleas fell on deaf ears. The building also did not have fire arrangements and the NOC.

Another fire at yarn mill

Another fire broke out on the ground floor of a yarn mill, Parasnath Combers, at Budhewaa-Kohara on the Chandigarh road on Tuesday morning. Fire tenders from Ludhiana and Samrala were pressed into service to douse the flames. Sub-fire officer Aatish Rai, who led the fire-fighting operation, said it took around 8 hours to douse the flames. He said the mill had no fire arrangements.

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After getting information about the incident, I, along with my team, reached the spot within 10 minutes. Since the hosiery unit was situated in a narrow lane, the fire tender could not enter the lane and firemen had to lay a 500m long hosepipe to start the fire-fighting operations. — Rajinder Kumar, A Fireman

Firemen faced a tough time to douse the flames as the factory was situated in the narrow lanes and the fire tenders could not reach there. The firemen had to lay a long hosepipe to spray water on the building.

The hosiery owner closed the factory last night. Someone informed him about the flames coming out of the building this morning. By the time the factory owner reached there, the fire had engulfed the entire first floor where a huge stock of woollens and expensive machinery were kept. He managed to save some stock, but most of the stock and machinery were reduced to ashes.

Rajinder Kumar, a fireman, said after getting information about the incident, he, along with his team, reached the spot within 10 minutes. Since the hosiery unit was situated in a narrow lane, the fire tender could not enter the lane and the firemen had to lay a 500m long hosepipe to start the fire-fighting operations.

“It took around two hours to douse the flames. While dousing the flames, the roof of the second floor had collapsed. A short-circuit is stated to be the reason behind the fire. However, the exact cause is yet to be ascertained. We are checking whether the factory owner had obtained the fire NOC or not,” said Rajinder.

He said if the fire was not controlled on time, it could have spread in Bhavesh Yarns situated on the ground floor of the building. Even several other hosieries, commercial buildings and residences situated near the affected hosiery could have been affected.

Kamal Kant, who owns Bhavesh Yarns on the ground floor of the building, appreciated the role of the firemen. He said had the firemen not reached on time, the fire could have spread in his unit also and it could have also engulfed the adjoining buildings.

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