Fire ravages 10 shops in Jammu warehouse market; no casualties

Close on the heels of a major fire at Jammu's Warehouse Nehru Market located near Bikram Chowk on Diwali night that gutted nearly 10 shops, chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday directed the district administration to provide immediate relief and assistance to the affected shopkeepers.

The Sunday night blaze gutted around 10 shops in one of Jammu's oldest commercial hubs, known for its wholesale trade in foodgrains, edible oils, cotton, brooms, and other essential commodities. No one was injured.

Ware House police post incharge PSI Ashutosh Singh said, "The exact cause of the fire remains a subject of investigation but it appears that a stray fire cracker started it." "Eight shops comprising provisional stores, cotton godowns, grocery shops etc. were gutted in the fire incident," he added.

However, there was no loss of life or injuries in the incident as the market was shut for Diwali festival.

While no official assessment of losses has been done as yet, traders, including the president of the Traders' Federation Warehouse, Deepak Gupta, claimed the losses to be in crores of rupees.

According to information, the fire started around 8.30pm on Sunday when people were busy celebrating Diwali and continued till 3 to 4 am.

Gupta accused the fire and emergency services department of a delayed response to the fire incident. "At around 8:20pm, I got a call about the fire incident at the market. I rushed to the market, and on the way, I kept calling the fire and emergency services to send fire tenders. About 90 minutes after the fire started, a mini fire tender -- a Tata Mobile -- was sent to douse the blaze, which by then had turned into a major fire and engulfed adjoining shops," he told the media.

"Following a hue and cry from traders and locals, the administration finally shook off its inertia and pressed fire tenders and JCBs into service," he said.

Gupta said despite a fire station being just five minutes away, only two fire tenders arrived that too nearly after 90 minutes of the outbreak. He demanded strict accountability and the suspension of officials responsible.

However, Gupta has appealed to political leaders not to politicise the tragedy for political gain. Addressing a meeting with senior members of the federation on Monday evening, Gupta said that leaders from various political parties had visited the affected market since that morning to assess the damage and express their views.

However, he expressed disappointment over attempts by certain leaders to exploit the unfortunate incident for political leverage. "We are stating clearly that timely action by the fire and emergency services department could have minimised the extent of the damage. We demand strict action against officials whose negligence contributed to the incident. However, the entire administration cannot be held responsible," he said.

Officials deny delay, say fire tenders were deployed immediately

Department officials, however, countered the allegation, maintaining that they attended to the initial call immediately with two fire tenders deployed from the nearest station, followed by reinforcements from other stations.

While the fire and emergency services department deployed multiple fire tenders to douse the fire, JCBs were also used to dismantle walls of the shops to reach the flames inside the shops.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah and lieutenant governor (LG) Manoj Sinha have expressed grief over the unfortunate incident. "The chief minister expressed grief over the fire incident at Bikram Chowk, Jammu, conveying his heartfelt sympathies to all those affected," the chief minister's office posted on X, adding that Abdullah has ordered swift administrative support.

Sinha expressed profound grief over the fire incident and reviewed the situation last night itself. He also spoke with the senior officials on Monday and directed to ensure that immediate and comprehensive relief was provided to those affected by this tragedy.

MoS calls for fire response review

Union minister of state, Dr Jitendra Singh, on Monday, visited the affected market and took stock of the situation. He interacted with traders whose shops were damaged in the blaze and heard their concerns regarding the losses suffered.

Singh said that the incident underlined the need for greater preparedness and effective preventive mechanisms, particularly in crowded commercial establishments and fire-sensitive locations. The minister urged the J&K government to explore the possibility of providing compensation to the affected traders.

Meanwhile, J&K BJP has demanded immediate compensation for traders, shopkeepers and other people affected by the fire incidents at Shiv market near Jammu railway station and the warehouse area of Nehru market here.

BJP spokesperson Parimoksh Seth said the affected traders had suffered huge financial losses, while many families dependent on these businesses were facing uncertainty.

"The J&K government should immediately assess the losses and provide adequate financial compensation to the affected traders without further delay," he told reporters here.

Traders protest against deputy CM

Deputy CM Surinder Choudhary and state cabinet minister Javed Rana also visited the fire-hit Nehru Market warehouse on Monday.

Choudhary's visit witnessed tense moments as some angry shopkeepers raised slogans, saying they have no expectations from the government as the visits by political representatives were limited to assurances, and photographs, without any concrete action on the ground. Rana said he would apprise the chief minister of their grievances.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who also visited the affected area, called for a special financial package from the Centre and the Union territory governments for traders affected by the fire.

She said that the losses could run into ₹200- ₹300 crore. "I estimate the losses to be at least ₹200- ₹300 crore, as the warehouse area is one of the main commercial hubs of Jammu," she told reporters at the party headquarters here.