CUTTACK: As many as 43 thatched sheds in Niali haat (market) were reduced to ashes in a major fire on Saturday night. However, no casualties were reported in the fire mishap. As per reports, locals noticed a fire in the weekly haat, which opens on Thursday and Sunday, at midnight and informed the fire station. Two fire tenders from Niali and Adaspur fire stations rushed to the spot and took two hours to bring the blaze under control.
Though the exact reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained, the mishap is suspected to have been started by some miscreants who set the sheds on fire intentionally. The vendors alleged that a similar incident had occurred on the night before of opening of the market in March 2020 where the miscreants had set fire following which all the thatched sheds were gutted.
The vendors who had filed a complaint in this regard in Niali police station had demanded compensation from the administration, but no financial assistance was provided to them. This time, the vendors have demanded probes, and financial assistance for their loss while urging the administration to construct concrete sheds.