Cotton bales worth Rs 23 crore gutted into ashes at Ajanta

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

In a major fire accident, cotton bales worth Rs 23 crore, stored in the warehouse on Jalgaon-Sillod Road, owned by Buldhana Urban Bank, at Ajanta, burnt into ashes after the fire broke out on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday at 12.30 am. The task of dousing the fire was continued till Tuesday at 4 pm. The cause of the fire, however, is yet to be ascertained by the police.

It so happened that the bank has three warehouses in Ajanta village. When its third warehouse caught fire, the neighbour and hotel owner Vishnu Ghule immediately alerted the godown keeper and branch manager of the bank (at Ajanta) Ravindra Sable through the phone. Sable then informed the superiors and the Ajanta police.

The news spread like wildfire. The bank officers, employees, police and fire brigade team reached the spot. The warehouse was closed from all four sides, therefore, the water canons were trying to douse the fire through the windows and shutter. The fire was aggressive, therefore, the dousing of fire continued till Tuesday (today) at 4 pm. A total of 6,389 bales of cotton were stored in the warehouse and they got burnt into ashes, said the Bank’s regional manager Sanjay Dalvi.

Acting upon the information, the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Vijay Marathe, API Pramod Bhingare, PSI Raju Rathod and the team reached the spot. The Bank’s chief managing director Sukesh Zanwar, Dalvi, and Sable along with bank’s staff Ramesh Jadhav (Golegaon), Gajanan Jhalte (Sillod), Ravindra Raut (Shivna), Anil Borde and Pradeep Yeole also reached the spot. Ajanta police have registered the case in this regard.

Why stocked the cotton

The ginning owners and cotton traders from Shirdi, Ahmednagar and Vaijapur purchased the cotton at low prices and stocked the cotton bales in the warehouse on a rental basis. The cotton bales were kept with the intention to sell them out when the price of the product is high in the market. It is also learnt that the traders and businessmen have obtained business loans of around Rs 12 crore on the basis of the cotton bales.

CCTV camera surveillance

The warehouse was under CCTV surveillance. The cops believe that the short-circuit would not have taken place as the fitting of electrical wiring is from the outer portion of the warehouse. It is not from the inside. Besides, the warehouse is closed from all sides. The police will soon survey the CCTV camera footage to find the lead in the case, said API Bhingare.

Two warehouses are safe

The regional manager (Sillod) Sanjay Dalvi

said, “There are three warehouse godowns of our bank in Ajanta. Out of which, one warehouse has caught fire, while two others are safe. The agriculture products of 40-45 farmers are safe in these two godowns. The bank has drawn the insurance, therefore, the farmers should not worry about it.”