Fire in Jammu warehouse market exposes coordination lapses
A blaze in one of Jammu's oldest commercial hubs has led to allegations of delayed firefighting response and calls for compensation.
A major fire broke out in the Warehouse market in Jammu late on Sunday night, gutting approximately 15 shops in the wholesale foodgrains and essential commodities hub, according to The Pioneer.
Warehouse Traders Federation President Deepak Gupta alleged that the Fire and Emergency Services Department responded with gross negligence. He claimed that only two fire tenders arrived nearly 90 minutes after the fire started, despite the fire station being barely five minutes away.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the incident. The Lieutenant Governor directed senior officials on Monday to ensure immediate and comprehensive relief is provided to those affected, while the Chief Minister instructed the district administration to assess the damage and extend assistance.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and cabinet minister Javed Rana visited the site, where they assured shopkeepers that the incident and the alleged delay in emergency services would be investigated. Some shopkeepers expressed frustration, citing a lack of concrete action and the delayed disbursement of relief following a fire at Shiv Market on October 25.
A BJP delegation, including Jammu Lok Sabha MP Jugal Kishore Sharma, also visited the market to demand adequate compensation. BJP spokesperson Parimoksh Seth said the government should immediately assess losses and provide financial compensation to the affected traders.
Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh inspected the damage and urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to explore providing compensation to traders who suffered material losses.