NEW DELHI: In a devastating fire that broke out at Dilli Haat on Wednesday evening, over 30 shops were reduced to ashes within minutes, destroying decades of artisans’ work and heritage crafts from across India.
The blaze, which started around 8:45 pm, engulfed a major section of the popular handicraft marketplace located in South Delhi.
According to police, a PCR call was received soon after the fire erupted.
Fire tenders reached the site and managed to bring the fire under control, but not before extensive damage had been done. “What we saved in 20 years was gone in just 22 minutes,” said Haqeem Sajid, a shawl seller whose shop of Kashmiri Pashmina shawls was completely gutted.
Sajid, who has run his shop for 25 years, said the fire was so intense that even brass glasses melted in the heat.
“We have lost stock worth over Rs 50 lakh. There were seven Kashmiri shops – one for papier-mâché and six for shawls. Expensive handmade Pashmina shawls starting from Rs 10,000 were all destroyed,” he said. Sajid’s nephew, Shuja Abbas, added that the shop’s entire inventory—painstakingly sourced from Kashmir—was reduced to cinders.
“We froze in the first moment. In the next, the fire had engulfed our shop. We just ran to save our lives,” he recalled.
Shopkeepers have expressed frustration over the lack of fire safety measures. Several claimed that fire extinguishers were either expired or malfunctioning. “Those who used the extinguishers said they may have made the fire worse,” said Aqeeb Maqbool, another shawl seller. His family has been in the trade for 80 years, and he estimates losses of over `1 crore. Maqbool said around 150 artisans from the Kashmir Valley, whose livelihoods depend on their shawl-making craft, will be directly affected.
“We have lost shawls worth over crore. It was all handmade material which was brought here from Kashmir. There were four people working with me and around 150 people were attached with us who make shawls in the valley. We all have been affected by this.
We were giving around Rs 1.5 lakh per month. I just left the shop when the incident took place. I have lost my whole material to the blaze. Nothing is left and we have no idea how it started. I think the fire extinguishers were expired. We have heard that those who used the fire extinguisher ignited the blaze instead of dousing,” Maqbool said. Other affected vendors included artisans from Rajasthan and Jharkhand.
Sunita, from Jaipur, who sold traditional handmade puppets, said she lost goods worth Rs 2.5 lakh. “Usually my husband handles the stall. I came on Wednesday and barely escaped. Everything is gone,” she said. Surendra Kumar from Jharkhand, who has run his stall for 25 years, managed to salvage some of his stock by moving it toward the back gate. However, he now doesn’t know where it ended up.
Pankaj Kumar from Jodhpur, who sold miniature paintings, said this was not the first such incident. “Two years ago, there was a minor fire in my shop. This time, nothing could be saved,” he said.
Nitin Kumar, a Madhubani artist, lost half his inventory. “We had to cut through the tarpaulin to retrieve whatever little we could,” he said.
One person, Chhotelal Sharma, sustained injuries while trying to escape. He suspects a short circuit may have caused the fire. Eyewitnesses and shopkeepers highlighted the poor emergency access within Delhi Haat.
“There was no clear pathway for the fire tenders. The rear gate key couldn’t be located in time,” said Vijay Kumar Jha, a shop owner. “The fire started near the stage area and spread rapidly. Fire services reached after 30 minutes but couldn’t enter easily. Around 34 shops were destroyed.”
As the ash settles, artisans and traders are left to reckon with the emotional and financial wreckage. Most have spent decades building their businesses—now lost in less than half an hour.