Massive fire at restaurant in Amritsar, book store destroys goods, stationery

Amritsar, February 5

A major fire broke out at Bansal Sweets restaurant on Lawrence Road early in the morning today. The Fire Department of the municipal corporation got information of blaze around 4 am. Soon, firemen along with fire tenders reached the spot to control the blaze. After four hours efforts, the fire was brought under control.

However, the reason behind fire, which started from the kitchen of the sweet shop and quickly spread to the restaurant, could not be ascertained.

Four fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames. A large number of goods, furniture and infrastructure was destroyed in the fire.

Owners of Bansal Sweets restaurant have violated the building bylaws as they have covered the open space outside their establishment. The MC ignored the violations and allowed restaurant owners to do business from the open space which led to road congestion. During the fire incident, firemen and commuters faced inconvenience as restaurant owners had encroached the road.

Another fire broke out at a book store in Gali Bal Chaudhary, near Bheera Bazaar, Katra Khajana, during wee hours today. On seeing fire, a group of devotees returning from Vaishno Devi shrine raised an alarm around 5 am. Nearby residents gathered on the spot disconnected the power supply to the store. They started dousing flames with water buckets. Later, volunteers of Sewa Society from Dhab Wasati Ram and firemen from Beri Gate fire station reached the spot and brought the blaze under control. The timely action of residents and volunteers prevented the spread of fire to nearby buildings. A large number stationery items and books in the store were gutted. No loss of life was reported in both the incidents.