Fire Breaks Out In Main Market In Odisha's Keonjhar, 69 Shops Gutted

The firefighters face difficulties to bring the blaze under control due to an inadequate water supply.

It was suspected that the flames were triggered by a short circuit.

Source : Getty

A massive fire broke out in the main market in Keonjhar town of Odisha on Monday in which about 69 shops were completely gutted. It took about 7-8 hours for the fire tenders to douse the fire due to insufficent amout of water, reported PTI.

Keonjhar tahsildar Ashish Mahapatra said that six fire tenders were pressed into service to put off the flames.

While there was loss to property in the fire, there were no reports of any casualty. However, the firefighters faced difficulties to bring the blaze under control due to inadequate water supply, Mahapatra said. 

The blaze was finally doused after 7-8 hours, PTI reported. 

Keonjhar Sub-Collector Ramachandra Kisku said that the exact reason behind the fire that erupted is yet to be ascertained but it was suspected that the flames were triggered by a short circuit.

Keonjhar Market Committee secretary Harischandra Das told PTI that properties worth Rs 50 crore have been destroyed in the fire. Adding, that traders lost their only source of income. 

A similar incident took place in a factory in the Wazirpur area of Delhi late last week. Fire department officials stated that a call was received from A-91 Wazirpur industrial area near JD Dharam Kanta at around 8:18 am. A total of 25 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire, according to ANI.

The fire official told the news agency that massive flames were seen billowing out from the building, however, no casualties were reported.

This was just a week after a fire broke out in a plastic factory in Delhi’s Karawal Nagar. Police received a fire call at about 9:25 in the morning and 8 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames. The factory was located near Yamuna dairy and Sardar Patel School in Karawal Nagar, according to ANI.