New Delhi, May 1: At least 30 shops were gutted in a massive fire at the Dilli Haat, a popular market in south Delhi’s INA area, on Wednesday night, the Delhi Fire Services said.
No casualty was reported in the incident, it said in a statement.
Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra said the fire has been brought under control.
Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg, in a statement, said, “We received a call regarding a fire at the Dilli Haat Market at 8.55 pm, and 14 fire engines were rushed to the spot. A total of 30 shops were gutted. The fire has been extinguished, and no injuries were reported”.
Earlier, the Delhi Police had put the number of destroyed shops at 25.
Smoke was seen billowing from several shops, and flames leapt towards the sky as the blaze swept the open-air art and craft mart.
While one of the shop owners claimed that goods worth at least Rs 10 crore have been destroyed, another, Shauket Ahmed, said that he alone suffered a loss of at least Rs 1.5 crore.
“We don’t know how the fire broke out, but we could not save anything,” he said.
The owner of shop no. 4 said, “I have lost my entire life’s savings. We had set up this stall by taking a loan… Everything we earned over the years is gone.”
Talking to PTI videos, some shopkeepers claimed that there were no proper fire safety arrangements in place at the market.
Vijai Kumar, who sells Madhubani paintings, said the fire spread rapidly due to the lack of firefighting equipment like fire extinguishers.
“It took the fire brigade nearly one and a half hours to reach. There were no adequate arrangements in place to help us respond to such an emergency,” Kumar said.
The traders said the fire broke out at around 8.30 pm, possibly due to a short circuit.
In a statement, police said a PCR call regarding the fire at the market was received at Sarojini Nagar Police Station at around 8.45 pm.
“Acting swiftly, the SHO and police personnel reached the location and found that a fire had engulfed approximately 24 shops situated in the Stage Area of Delhi Haat,” it said.
The area was immediately evacuated, and fire tenders managed to bring the blaze under control, it added.
Police and fire department teams remain on-site, and further investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the blaze, it said.
Mishra, the Minister of Art, Culture and Language, in a post on X said, “The fire at Dilli Haat has been brought under control. While several shops have been gutted, by the grace of God, there are no reports of any casualty. I am at Dilli Haat to meet those affected.” (PTI)
