100 shops gutted in fire at Chandni Chowk

New Delhi: Around 100 shops were gutted in a massive fire in the wholesale market of Bhagirath Palace area in Chandni Chowk here even as the cooling operations are currently underway, police said on Friday. No injuries have been reported so far, they said. Five major buildings got affected during the fire-fighting operations out of which three collapsed, they said. According to the fire department, a call about the blaze was received at 9.19 pm on Thursday and 40 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. At present, 22 fire tenders are engaged in the cooling process as the fire has been brought under control after more than 12 hours, a fire department official said. The fire broke out in a shop in Mahalaxmi Market and soon spread to adjacent ones, all dealing in electrical appliances, officials said. White smoke billowed high in the sky as the toxic stench of burning plastic and rubber polluted the air. Director of Delhi Fire Service Atul Garg said, "The fire is under control. Now, 22 fire tenders are working on the cooling operations. The cause of the fire is not yet known."

In the narrow bylanes of Delhi's Chandni Chowk, firefighters toiled for hours to douse a blaze that overnight gutted around 100 shops of a wholesale market of electrical and electronic goods. Ignoring the intermittent sounds of blasts and policemen warning of boned-out portions of buildings collapsing, dejected traders, who had their faces covered with handkerchiefs to prevent the stench, waited impatiently to enter their incinerated shops to recover whatever they could. According to DCP (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi, four to five buildings each housing 20 to 25 shops have been affected by the fire while three buildings collapsed during firefighting operations. Amid bellowing cries, Sanjay Kumar, whose shop was completely burnt out, said, "Our entire shop is destroyed. We have suffered a loss of several crores. We are just waiting for the fire to douse. But I don't think anything is left." Among the lucky ones is Balwinder Singh who owns a shop opposite a burning building. "As of now, our shop is safe. I got to know about the fire at around 11 pm on Thursday. My father was at the shop and he told me our shop is safe but I am here to check," he said.