Chandigarh, India: A major fire that engulfed a furniture market in Chandigarh on Monday has resulted in massive property damage. According to a fireman at the scene, around 35 furniture shops and goods worth several lakhs of Indian rupees were completely destroyed in the conflagration.
The fire broke out late Monday night and could only be controlled by early Tuesday, said local police. The fire department had to rush at least 10 fire tenders to control the fire, who battled the blaze for up to five hours after it broke out.
The furniture market is located near Chandigarh's Beant Singh Memorial along the union territory's boundary with Mohali town of adjoining Punjab. It is also one of the bigger ones in the region and supplies furniture to areas in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.
Chandigarh's joint commissioner of the Municipal Corporation and chief fire officer, Rajiv Gupta, said: “We disconnected the electricity supply of the area to check the spread of the fire. We will look into the cause of the fire.” Mr Gupta added that there was no loss of life or any injury to anyone.
Shopkeepers at the market said that newly made wooden, steel and iron furniture as well as plastic items were all destroyed in the fire, dealing a huge blow to their business.
