NEW DELHI: Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Saturday visited the Bhagirath Palace market in Chandni Chowk where firefighting operations continued for more than 38 hours after the blaze, officials said. Fourteen fire tenders are working at the spot since 6 am, officials said, adding that 10-11 more would be sent to douse the blaze, which has gutted more than 100 shops at the wholesale market.
The incident was reported on Thursday. The fire broke out in a shop in Mahalaxmi Market and spread to the adjacent shops of electrical appliances, according to the fire department.“The fire was brought under control on Friday morning and the cooling process was underway. But, it reignited by the evening and became massive once again,” said a senior police official.
Saxena, who visited the place in the morning to take stock of the situation, said the cooling process was still on. “With hanging wires, overloaded circuits, old buildings, water shortage & narrow lanes, such areas are dangerously prone to blazes,” said Saxena.
The L-G said a multi-disciplinary committee had been constituted to look into ways and means of effectively addressing these issues with active involvement of residents and other stakeholders in areas like Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Pahar Ganj and others.
A report has been sought within 30 days, he said. Officials said the narrow lanes and congested area were challenges for them during dousing of the fire. Five buildings were affected by the massive fire and three of them have collapsed, officials had said, adding no loss of life or injuries has been reported so far.
“The cause of the fire is not yet known,” said Director of Delhi Fire Service Atul Garg.