KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, Feb 27: As many as 22 shops were gutted as a fire broke out in Kadma market in the residential area of the steel city on Monday morning. The fire was triggered apparently due to a short circuit in a general store at about 7 am and it had spread rapidly to other shops, taking about two dozen of shops in its fold.
A morning waker who first noticed the fire had informed Fire Brigade but by the time a fire tender reached the spot the shops were aflame.
The razing fire was brought under control after more than one fire tender from the Jharkhand government fire station as well as the Tata Steel Fire Station were pressed into service for over four hours.
The shops that were gutted included grocery shops, garment shops, footwear shops, general stores and a paint shop.
Ashok Kumar Ram, the OC of Kadma Thana said apparently the cause of the fire was a short circuit but it would be officially confirmed after a team of officials from Tata Steel UISL will carry out an inspection.
“About 22 shops were gutted at Kadma market apparently due to a short circuit. A team of Tata Steel UISL, the company under which the marketplace belongs is looking into the cause of the fire,” said Ashok Kumar while talking to lagatar24.com.
The OC said the extent of loss due to the fire is being estimated.
The Kadma market is located close to the house of health minister Banna Gupta. The minister was away in Ranchi, but his brother Guddu Gupta had swung into action along with scores of his supporters to douse the razing flame in tandem with the fire bridges.