Fire guts shops in Jammu's Nehru Market
A blaze broke out in the historic wholesale hub on Sunday night, while a separate fire occurred in Kathua district.
A fire gutted at least a dozen shops in the historic Nehru Market in Jammu city on Sunday night, November 8, according to Siasat. 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 market fire began in a shop around 9.15 pm and spread quickly due to the storage of edible oil. No casualties were reported in either incident, which occurred during the bursting of firecrackers for Diwali.
Divisional Commissioner Jammu Vikas Kundal said the fire had been largely brought under control and efforts were underway to extinguish flames in the remaining one or two shops. The Warehouse Nehru Market has served traders and consumers since the 1950s.
Warehouse Association president Deepak Gupta alleged gross negligence by the fire brigade, claiming only two fire engines arrived after an hour and a half despite the fire station being five minutes away. He further alleged that officials did not answer phone calls initially.
BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa said at least eight shops were gutted, causing estimated losses of crores of rupees. He stated that the administration should have stationed fire tenders at major markets following a recent fire in Shiv Market near the Jammu Railway Station.
The exact cause of the blazes has not yet been ascertained. In Kathua, fire tenders were rushed to the district police lines to douse the conflagration.