Rs 10-cr furniture reduced to ashes

Tribune News Service
Mohali, October 21

A major fire broke out in the furniture market at Lakhnaur village here in the wee hours of today in which goods worth around Rs 10 crore were destroyed in 19 makeshift shops.

Five fire tenders were pressed into service. It took at least five hours for the fire tenders to douse the flames completely. Since the shops were stocked for the festival season, the total loss is estimated to be nearly Rs 10 crore.

Shocked shopkeepers and their families were seen crying at the spot.

According to sources, the fire broke out around 4 am. Though the exact reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained, some shopkeepers claimed that work on installation of CCTV cameras was on at a shop last night. “A short circuit during the work could be the reason behind the incident as the fire reportedly broke out in that shop,” said one of the shopkeepers.

“Almost everything lying the shops was destroyed in the fire,” said Sunil Verma, owner of Muskan Furnishers. He claimed that he suffered a loss of around Rs 25 lakh.

Harinder Singh, whose shop, Preet Furniture, was spread over more than an acre, is said to have suffered a loss of around Rs 1 crore.

“It’s all God’s will. What can I say,” said Harinder Singh, who was at the spot.

He said he got two calls around 4.20 am from two persons, who informed him about the fire. “First, I thought that somebody was kidding, but I immediately rushed to the spot after getting the second call. The flames were about to engulf my shop when I reached the spot, but I could not do anything,” said Harinder Singh.

Zaffar Khan, owner of Selection Furniture, claimed that he suffered a loss of around Rs 20 lakh.

Punjab Cabinet Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu reached the spot and assured the shopkeepers that the state government would help them and provide them a proper place for setting up their shops.

Mohali Chief Fire Officer Karam Chand Sood said they got a call from a passerby at 4.55 am. “We immediately dispatched fire tenders to the spot,” said Sood, adding that they had to summon fire tenders from Chandigarh and Dera Bassi also.

Philanthropic activity takes a hit

Harinder Singh, one of the shopkeepers who actively participates in religious and philanthropic activities, said he had launched a scheme for poor girls’ marriage. “I give poor families five furniture items, including a double bed, a sofa set and a dressing table, for just Rs 15,000 on their daughters’ marriage. I had 35 bookings under the scheme right now. The fire has virtually burnt everything for me,” said Harinder Singh.

No power connection in market

The market, which was started around two decades ago, has no electricity connection. The shopkeepers had set up makeshift shops on land of a farmer whom they used to pay rent earlier. “We stopped paying the rent to the landowner around six months ago when we got to know that the land has been acquired by GMADA for widening the Mohali-Landran road,” said Sunil Verma, owner of a shop, adding that there was no electricity connection in the market and all of them were using generator sets. However, the shopkeepers claimed that all of them were paying GST to the government.