Bhubaneswar: A massive fire broke out at Unit-I Market on Monday night, gutting 97 shops and destroying properties worth Rs 8 crore in the city’s biggest retail and wholesale hub.“It took more than two hours to douse the flames. Some trees nearby also caught fire and were burning,” assistant fire officer Manoranjan Rout said. Some motorcycles parked in front of the front rows of shops were also reduced to ashes in the fire, according to the fire personnel.As per an initial assessment, the cause of the fire is believed to be a short circuit as electric wires criss-cross the markets dangerously. On Oct 22 last year, 30 shops were gutted in the same market in a fire that broke out in the afternoon.On Monday, of the 97 shops gutted, 43 were regular shops and 54 kiosks and vending zones.“Soon after we received information about the market catching fire, initially, two fire engines rushed to the spot and subsequently another two as the fire was spreading fast and raging. Plastic, wooden items and other inflammable items added to the blaze, even as we used pressure sprinklers,” Rout added.“The shops dealt in essential items, home appliances, plastic items, toys, groceries, fruits, food and sweets,” Rout added.City mayor Sulochana Das and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) commissioner Chanchal Rana went to the market on Tuesday morning to assess the damage and speak to the affected shopkeepers. “We have asked the shopkeepers not to use polythene sheets any more as they added fuel to the fire. We have been warning against using them for a long time. Now we have banned their use,” Das said.BMC announced that the market will remain shut on Tuesday for restoration and rubble-clearing work. Multiple vehicles and more than five sanitation teams have been engaged for the task. “While the shopkeepers of the affected shops were trying to look for items that could be saved from the fire, the restoration teams removed burnt parts of the roof, wooden structures, shelves and pull carts. We are considering keeping the market closed on Wednesday as well if reopening it is not possible amid restoration work,” BMC additional commissioner Kailash Chandra Dash said.“We had received Rs 26 crore from the govt two weeks ago to give a facelift to the market, especially to insulate and regulate electric wiring inside it. Also, we will bring out an SOP for the shopkeepers on how to keep the items and shun the use of polythene sheets,” Das added.Meanwhile, the BMC, with approval from special relief commissioner, is planning to free an encroached space from the market for constructing a water tank that can be used in case a fire breaks out.
