Fire guts shops in Jammu's Nehru Market and Kathua
No casualties were reported in the Sunday night blazes that occurred during Diwali celebrations.
A fire gutted at least a dozen shops in the historic Warehouse Nehru Market in Jammu city on Sunday night, according to The Hindu. A separate blaze also broke out at a store room in the district police lines in Kathua district at 9.50 pm.
The Fire and Emergency Services Department said the Jammu fire began in a shop at around 9.15 pm and spread quickly due to the storage of edible oil. The incident occurred amid widespread bursting of firecrackers for Diwali, though the exact cause of the blazes has not been ascertained.
Divisional Commissioner Jammu Vikas Kundal said the fire had been largely brought under control and that efforts were underway to extinguish remaining flames in the last one or two shops. Fire tenders from several stations across Jammu city were rushed to the spot.
Warehouse Association president Deepak Gupta alleged gross negligence by the fire brigade, claiming that only two fire engines arrived after an hour and a half despite the station being five minutes away. He said the fire engulfed around 15 shops.
BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa stated that at least eight shops were gutted, causing estimated losses of crores of rupees. He said the administration should have stationed fire tenders at major markets following a previous fire in Shiv Market near the Jammu Railway Station.