Ware House Market Federation extends 48 hours’ bandh call
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 9: Several political leaders visited the Warehouse-Nehru Market area here today to assess the losses suffered by traders in a devastating fire that broke out on Diwali night, gutting eight shops and causing losses worth crores of rupees.
The visiting leaders expressed solidarity with the affected traders and demanded adequate compensation besides a thorough inquiry into the alleged delay in the response of the Fire and Emergency Services Department.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Javed Rana visited the affected market and interacted with the shopkeepers.
They assured them that the losses would be assessed for providing assistance and that allegations regarding the delayed arrival of fire tenders would be investigated.
The Ministers also assured that necessary steps would be taken to address the concerns of the trading community and fix responsibility for any lapses.
However, some angry traders raised slogans, expressing disappointment over repeated assurances by political representatives and referring to the delay in relief for victims of the October 25 Shiv Market fire.
Union Minister in Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh inspected the affected premises, took stock of the damage and interacted with the traders to hear their concerns.
He was briefed by the district administration, led by Additional Deputy Commissioner Jammu Ansuya Jamwal, about the circumstances surrounding the incident and the measures taken to control the fire.
Himachal Pradesh Governor Kavinder Gupta has also expressed deep concern over the devastating fire incident at the Warehouse Complex near Nehru Market in Jammu.
In a statement, Gupta expressed heartfelt sympathies and solidarity with the affected shopkeepers and their families, who suffered substantial losses in the unfortunate incident.
Describing the incident as deeply distressing, the Himachal Pradesh Governor urged the Jammu and Kashmir Government to extend all possible assistance and relief to the affected shopkeepers to facilitate their early rehabilitation.
Members of the Ware House Traders’ Association, led by Deepak Gupta, also apprised him of the sequence of events and acknowledged the prompt response of the Fire and Emergency Services, which helped prevent loss of life.
Expressing relief that no casualties were reported, Dr Jitendra Singh said the incident highlighted the need for better preparedness and preventive measures in crowded commercial establishments.
He urged the Jammu and Kashmir Government to examine the possibility of providing compensation to traders who suffered losses in the fire.
He said the concerned authorities should assess the extent of damage and explore avenues for extending financial assistance to the affected business owners.
The Minister also called for strengthening fire safety arrangements in commercial areas and suggested that the Fire and Emergency Services convene a meeting with the Traders’ Federation to formulate a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for fire-sensitive locations.
He said the SOP should focus on both prevention and emergency response through better coordination among departments and traders, identification of potential fire hazards, regular safety measures and awareness programmes.
He stressed that lessons from the Nehru Market incident should be utilised to improve preparedness and prevent such incidents in other busy commercial areas.
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather expressed anguish over the massive damage and conveyed his sympathies to the affected traders.
While appreciating the efforts of the Fire and Emergency Services Department and the local administration in containing the blaze, he urged the Government to provide ex-gratia relief to the affected shopkeepers at the earliest.
Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, accompanied by BJP MP Jugal Kishore Sharma, MLAs Yudhvir Sethi and Vikram Randhawa and former BJP president Ravinder Raina, also visited the spot.
Sunil Sharma alleged that the Fire and Emergency Services Department had failed to respond promptly and demanded a fair inquiry into the delay.
He announced that a delegation of all 29 BJP legislators would coordinate with the administration to assist the affected traders.
He also said the party would seek relaxation in Constituency Development Fund norms to facilitate financial assistance for rebuilding the damaged establishments.
MP Jugal Kishore Sharma questioned the delay in deploying firefighting teams, particularly during the festive season when emergency services should remain on high alert.
He said two fire tenders should be stationed permanently at Warehouse Jammu to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and demanded a thorough inquiry into the delayed response, which, he alleged, had resulted in massive losses to the trading community.
Former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed deep sorrow over the incident, saying it had dealt a severe blow to people dependent on their businesses for their livelihood.
He urged the Government to immediately assess the losses, ensure proper rehabilitation of the affected traders and announce adequate compensation without delay.
He also stressed the need for a comprehensive review of fire safety arrangements in commercial establishments and markets.
PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti sought a special financial package from the Centre and the UT Government, estimating the losses at Rs 200-300 crore.
She said the affected traders, many of whom had raised loans or sold family jewellery to establish their businesses, required immediate support to resume operations.
She also expressed concern over the loss of livelihoods of employees working in the shops and questioned the firefighting arrangements.
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee also demanded a thorough inquiry into the alleged lapses by the Fire and Emergency Services Department and sought an adequate relief package for victims of both the Warehouse and Shiv Market fires.
Former Minister Ajay Sadhotra also visited the Warehouse Market area and expressed grief over the fire incident.
He demanded an immediate high-level and time-bound enquiry to ascertain the exact cause of the fire to fix responsibility wherever negligence is established.
He urged the Government to provide adequate and fair compensation to all the affected traders and other victims in view of the enormous losses suffered by them.
Apni Party Jammu Province president Manjit Singh called for modernisation of firefighting infrastructure, including advanced fire tenders, hydraulic platforms, specialised rescue equipment and strategically located fire stations.
He also demanded a time-bound assessment of losses and compensation without unnecessary delays.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jammu president Arun Gupta extended support to the Warehouse Federation’s demand for immediate compensation and a time-bound inquiry to fix responsibility for the alleged delayed response.
He also questioned the technical problems reportedly affecting firefighting machinery during major fire incidents and called for an immediate technical review to ensure that the equipment functions properly during emergencies.
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association of Jammu (BAJ) also expressed its deep anguish over the fire incident and urged the Government and the concerned authorities to undertake an immediate and comprehensive assessment of the losses suffered by the traders.
The Association demanded adequate assistance and relief to enable the traders to overcome the current situation and restart their business activities again.
Association President K Nirmal Kotwal said the present tragedy should serve as a wakeup call for the Government to move beyond temporary remedial measures and address the fundamental problems confronting the trading community, including adequate commercial space, properly constructed godowns, modern infrastructure and effective emergency response facilities, which he said, are essential not only for the growth of trade but for protection of human lives, property and livelihoods.
Chamber of Traders Federation president Neeraj Anand appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to release immediate financial assistance, saying seven families had lost their shops, stocks and years of savings.
He also demanded a time-bound inquiry to fix responsibility for the alleged delay in the arrival of fire tenders.
Shiv Sena (UBT) J&K president Manish Sahni also demanded adequate compensation, a probe into the alleged shortcomings in firefighting equipment and permanent deployment of fire tenders at major wholesale markets.
Mission Statehood president Sunil Dimple demanded compensation of Rs one crore for each affected shopkeeper and criticised attempts to politicise the tragedy.
Meanwhile, Warehouse-Nehru Market Federation president Deepak Gupta cautioned political leaders against politicising the tragedy for their political interests.
Addressing a meeting of senior Federation members at the Warehouse office on Monday evening, he said the timely response of the Fire and Emergency Services Department could have prevented the extent of the damage and demanded strict action against officials whose negligence contributed to the incident.
However, he maintained that the entire administration could not be held responsible.
Gupta appreciated the timely intervention of Divisional Commissioner Jammu Vikas Kundal, Deputy Commissioner Minga Sherpa, ADC (Law and Order) Ansuya Jamwal and senior police officers, saying their presence and monitoring had helped prevent the fire from spreading across the entire market.
As no action had been taken against the officials concerned, the Federation unanimously decided to keep Warehouse-Nehru Market closed for another 48 hours, till Wednesday. The Federation had earlier called for a market shutdown on Monday.
Highlighting another long-pending demand, Gupta said the Federation had been seeking land outside the city for construction of godowns for the past decade.
He said the absence of proper storage facilities had forced traders to keep goods outside their shops, contributing to the rapid spread of the fire and resulting in heavy losses.
He urged the Government to allot land outside the city to ensure safe storage of traders’ stocks.
Eight shops were gutted in the devastating fire that broke out around 8:30 pm on Sunday at the historic wholesale market near Bikram Chowk.
Nearly 25 fire tenders were pressed into service, and the blaze was brought under control around 3 am on Monday.
The market, one of Jammu’s oldest wholesale trading centres dealing in foodgrains, edible oils and other essential commodities, suffered losses worth crores of rupees.