Six shops gutted in Doon

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 26

Six shops were gutted at Indira Market here late Saturday night. Fire-fighters reached the spot and extinguished the fire.

According to information, residents called the police control room after a major fire broke out in Indira Market.

The market was jampacked with customers at the time of the incident. No casualty was reported in the fire incident. The firemen took nearly one hour to extinguish the fire.

Shopkeepers of Indira Market protested against the state government after the incident. According to them, the main reason behind the fire incident was short-circuit in the Power Department transformer due to the stormy weather.

The agitating shopkeepers have alleged that supply of electricity continued even after repeated pleas to the State Power Department officials, which resulted in delay in the rescue operation.

According to them, the rescue operation was started when police officers asked the State Power Department officials to stop supply of electricity to the affected area. They claimed that goods worth lakhs of rupees were gutted.

Taking cognisance of the incident, Rajpur Road MLAs Rajkumar and Harbans Kapoor visited the affected area. They assured the gathering that every possible step would be taken by the state government to address grievances of shopkeepers. The Indira Market and General Merchant Welfare Association office-bearers have handed over a memo to Sushil Rathi for submission to Chief Minister Harish Rawat. Shopkeepers have sought monetary compensation.