Wheat bags gutted at Punjab Agro godown

Our Correspondent

Jagraon, April 25

A fire broke out at the Punjab Agro godown situated on Raikot Road in Mullanpur Dakha this afternoon.

Initially, the flames caught one set (chakka) of wheat bags stored in the open and then it engulfed the nearby sets.

As soon as the employees learnt about the fire, they started making efforts to douse the flames with the help of sand and water buckets, but were unable to control it as the fire was spreading fast.

Following this, four fire tenders from Ludhiana, Halwara and Jagraon were called in. Soon, the authorities of Punjab Agro and the district administration, including Ludhiana West SDM Richa, Punjab Agro DM Jagtar Singh Mallhi, technical officer and Dakha police, reached the spot.

The firefighters managed to control the fire with a lot of efforts.

Giving details of the incident, Punjab Agro inspector Sidharth Kapla said he was at the local grain market when he learnt about the fire.

According to Kapla, he rushed to the spot and found the workers trying to douse the fire. After controlling the flames, they started shifting the wheat bags to a nearby place in the godown.

The fire engulfed as many as 10 sets of wheat stock before it was controlled, Kapla added.

According to sources, around 31 thousand bags of wheat were stocked in the godown.

So far, the exact reason behind the fire is not clear. The authorities claimed that no major damage was done to the wheat stock.

According to Punjab Agro authorities, the exact damage caused to wheat produce was not clear yet and they were trying to ascertain it.

DM Jagtar Singh Mallhi said, “We are shifting the affected stock to another place. The actual damage will be known only after counting the bags, which can take some time.”