Panchkula Sector 9 rehri market reduced to rubble in blaze

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Panchkula, September 2

The entire rehri market in Sector 9, comprising 148 kiosks, was gutted following a massive blaze late last night. While no loss of life was reported, the loss of property was estimated at over Rs 15 crore.

The fire broke out around 11.30 pm on Thursday. More than 25 fire tenders were pressed into service and it took the firemen around eight hours to control the blaze.

Fire Officer Mamraj said after receiving information, the first fire tender arrived at the scene within five minutes. Fire tenders were also requisitioned from Dera Bassi, Chandigarh, Kalka and Pinjore, he said.

8 hrs to douse fire

• 25 fire tenders from P’kula, Dera Bassi, UT, Kalka and Pinjore pressed into service. It took firemen 8 hours to control blaze.
• Market chief said fire started at an electrical shop at 11.30 pm on Thursday and soon spread to other shops. The cause was unclear.

On receiving information, top officers of the Panchkula administration and police arrived at the scene and supervised the operation. The cause of the fire was not known.

A similar fire had gutted 15 shops at the rehri market in Sector 11 on January 16, 2015.

Past incidents

Aug 14, 2022 Two die in Industrial Area plywood factory fire

May 29 Three shops gutted in Sector 7

Jan 15, 2015 15 kiosks gutted at the Sector 11 rehri market

Faulty hoses

Shopkeepers claimed hoses of two of five fire tenders from Panchkula were faulty and lacked pressure, making firemen struggle. Had fire tenders from nearby areas not arrived in time, fire could have spread to nearby booths as well, they added.

Rehri markets are located in Sectors 7, 9, 11 and 17 of the city. Electricity wires have been laid haphazardly in shops, posing a real threat of short-circuit. With these markets having narrow lanes, the Fire Department has to face difficulty accessing interior parts in case of a blaze.

Market president Raj Kumar Rana said the fire started at an electrical shop and within a few minutes, it spread to other shops in the market. Rana, who runs a toy shop, said the entire stock of goods at the kiosk were destroyed. He urged the government to provide financial assistance to those affected, saying most had lost their only source of livelihood.

Subhash Papneja, general secretary, Residents Welfare Association, Sector 16, said for the past several years, they had been urging the Municipal Corporation and the Fire Department to check the fire-fighting system in showrooms across various markets, frequented by hundreds of children daily for tuitions.

He further said the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) should issue possession certificate only after checking all parameters, including the fire-fighting system.

Expressing grief over the incident, Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta said he was pained at the loss of livelihood of hundreds of families. He promised all assistance to the fire victims said the state government stood by those affected in their hour of need.

Gupta, who is on a foreign visit, said on receiving information about the incident, he directed the officers of the district administration to visit the scene and take stock of the situation, besides providing immediate relief to the victims.