Traders blame distribution firm for delay in switching off power supply after a short-circuit caused a massive blaze, gutting 15 shops in the area
Traders who lost goods worth crores in a fire at Moti Bazar market of old Delhi's Chandni Chowk area have alleged that the loss could have been avoided if officials of the BSES, one of the three power distribution companies in the national Capital, would have turned up in time and switched off the power supply immediately. The blaze was caused by a short circuit in a transformer on Tuesday.
"The fire broke out at 3.30 am after a short circuit in a cluster of naked wires hanging in the market. The fire brigade reached the spot immediately but could not douse the flames as current was still flowing in the wires. It took BSES officials an hour to reach there and disconnect the power supply. By that time, everything had turned into ashes," said Vikas Goel, one of the 15 traders who lost their shops.
Traders also alleged that this was not the first incident of a short-circuit in that unit of naked wires. "There was a short-circuit on Sunday as well, which was fixed by DISCOM officials. This time also, the fire broke out in this unit only," Goel said.
"We have made several requests to the BSES to change that cluster of wires with a single wire panel. But nothing happened and now this mishap has happened due to their callousness," he added.
Denying all allegations, the BSES officials, however, said they reached the spot immediately after receiving the complaint. "Our official received a call from a trader around 4.30 am, immediately reached the spot and promptly switched off the power supply in the area," a senior BSES official said, adding that the department received the complaint late.
He further said: "The two incidents are not related to each other. On Sunday, there was a minor spark in a cable that was immediately replaced by the department. An inquiry has been ordered in the matter."
Most affected shops stocked sarees, wedding material, and jewellery. A snacks shop on the ground floor was also completely destroyed. "The incident took place just when we had started recovering from the loss that we faced following the demonetization campaign. Now again we are back to square one and have been left with nothing. We don't even have space to sit and continue our business," said Rajesh Goel, a trader.
According to locals, had the fire broken out in the day time, it would have led to many casualties. "Fire tenders managed to reach the spot as there was no traffic at that time. This saved many lives," a resident said.
Meanwhile, several customers had to return empty-handed as their orders were destroyed in the blaze. "There were several customers whose orders were ready for delivery. Mostly, the orders were of wedding dresses and trousseau," Goel said, adding that shop owners now have to return money to such customers.
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