NEW DELHI: A massive fire was reported in a factory in west Delhi early on Saturday, Fire chief Atul Garg said, adding that no casualties were reported. Garg said that the fire occurred in a plywood factory in Mundka and 20 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. A call reporting the incident was received by the fire department at five in the morning.
“The location of the factory is near Mundka metro station. No casualties were reported even after the fire spread to a bulb factory opposite the plywood factory,” an official said. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and police have started the investigation. Another fire was reported later in the evening at a house in Shalimar Bagh. A total of eight tenders were assigned to the spot from where three women and three children were rescued and sent to a hospital.
On December 8, in a major fire in a building where several factories were being run, 43 men had lost their lives. The labourers used to sleep inside the building in north Delhi’s Anaj Mandi after finishing their work. On Thursday, the Delhi High Court sought the response of the Centre and Delhi government on a petition filed by an NGO alleging that child labourers were employed at the Anaj Mandi factory. The NGO has also alleged that employment of child labour at the factory was with the knowledge of State authorities who are “attempting to cover it up”.