A major fire broke out in a mango pulp manufacturing unit at GD Nellore in the district on Wednesday, resulting in a loss of Rs 8 crore to the management. However, there was no loss of human life.
Fire fighters had to battle for more than four hours to bring the flames under control.
According to Chittoor DSP S Rajeshwar Reddy, a fire broke out at Jain Mango Pulp Factory at around 10 am admid a huge pile of empty plastic trays.
As the plastic trays caught fire, thick and dense smoke billowed out and engulfed the nearby areas. People from three nearby villages were evacuated by the police as a precautionary measure.
Five fire fighting units from Chittoor, Pakala, Nagari and Puttur had to be roped in to bring the situation under control. Chittoor revenue divisional officer, P Kishore, ordered an inquiry into the mishap.
Stating that the factory has failed to maintain the fire fighting tools, DSP Reddy said that a case has been registered against the management for the negligence.
The factory manager, Sameer Sharma, told the media that a short-circuit might have led to the mishap. “A short-circuit might have led to the explosion of gas cylinders in the cooling units of the godowns,’’ he said adding that four godowns have been completely gutted in the flames.
Meanwhile, villagers who were evacuated allege that officials did not initiate any action against the management in spite of repeated complaints of fire being lodged from the region.