Fire gutted Asia’s biggest chilli market in Guntur, 300 kms from capital Hyderabad today.
Andhra CM puts losses at Rs20 cr while market sources say over Rs150 cr
GUNTUR: Fire gutted Asia’s biggest chilli market in Guntur, 300 kms from capital Hyderabad today. The chilli crop from the recent harvest, bagged and ready for sale, went up in pungent smoke even as the fire also destroyed 450 shops, some trucks and hutments on the perimeter of the 56 acre market yard. No casualties were reported.
Guntur Market Yard officials estimated crop loss at Rs150-Rs 200 crore while CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy told presspersons in New Delhi it was valued at just Rs20 crore, of which crop worth Rs15 crore was insured.
The fire started at around 9.30 am and raged unabated while fire tenders were late in arriving at the spot. “We have pressed 20 fire tenders into service while 10 more have been requisitioned from nearby districts,” said District Fire Officer Mohan Rao.
“We have been able to get only 20% of the fire under control but hope to put it out completely by tonight,” he told DNA late afternoon. The cause of the fire is not known.
Two trucks of fire fighting foam from the Indian Oil Corporation have also been on standby while ONGC has been asked to rush its fire-fighting experts, he added.
The pungent air resulting from the fire and strong winds made the fire fighting operations difficult. The fire also spread to cold storage units outside the yard and houses on its perimeter from which people had to be evacuated.
The Guntur chilli market is considered one of the largest in Asia, and a key trading centre for the famous Guntur chillies. On an average about 1 lakh tikkis (a gunny sack of 40 kgs) arrive at the market every day and annual business is estimated at upwards of Rs1000 crore.
There were about 3 lakh bags in the yard at the time of incident, said L Appi Reddy, chairman of Guntur Agricultural Market Yard.
This is the second tragedy to hit the chilli farmers, particularly in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh after two spells of untimely rains destroyed crop worth several hundred crores of rupees in late March.
Meanwhile, their prices are set to shoot up Rs5-7 per kg following the fire at the chilli market. The blaze is also likely to have an impact on the India’s chilli exports as the market yard accounts for an estimated 70% of the trade.
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