Major fire breaks out at 2 spinning mills in Jandiali

Tribune News Service

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Ludhiana, February 3

A major fire broke out in two spinning mills namely Parshnath Combers and Spinners and Kapila Tex at Jandiali on the Chandigarh road early this morning. Machinery and goods worth lakhs gutted in the fire. Both mills are located next to each other as one is owned by a man and another by his son.

Fire tenders from Ludhiana and Samrala were rushed to the spot to douse the flames. Firemen took more than eight hours to douse the flames.

As per information, a fire broke out around 3.30 am in Kapila Tex, which further spread into the adjoining factory of Parashnath Combers and Spinners.

Gautam Jain, owner of Kapila Tex, told The Tribune that his factory was lying closed as there was no night shift going on while in the Parashnath, a night shift was going on. Workers initially tried to control the flames but due to the presence of petroleum products, the fire turned intense in no time. The fire brigade was informed around 4.30 am following which fire tenders rushed to the spot.

Gautam said a huge stock of raw material and finished goods was lying inside both factories. Even expensive machinery had reduced to scrap in the fire. “The reason behind the fire seems a short-circuit. Initially, factory workers heard some blast in the power transformer. Later, the fire broke out in our units,” he said.

The owner said it was third time that a fire broke out in these units. Following the last fire that broke out in June, enough measures were taken. Unfortunately, the fire again broke out. So far, he could not exactly assess the loss but it could be huge as both factories have completely gutted.

Fire officials said there were no required fire safety arrangements in the factories due to which the flames could not be controlled by workers.

Aatish Rai, sub-fire officer, said over 100 fire tenders were used to completely douse the flames. Firemen faced a tough challenge as there was no direct access to the factories. Fire tenders could not directly reach outside the factories and they had to use long water pipes to pour water over the flames.