Massive fire breaks out at wholesale market in Delhi's Chandni Chowk

More than 50 shops were gutted after a massive fire broke out at Bhagirath Palace, a wholesale market in North Delhi's Chandni Chowk. Police gave this information on Friday. The fire was brought under control on Thursday evening and the atmosphere is now being cooled down, police said.

According to the fire department, they received the information about the fire at 19:19 on Thursday night and 40 fire tenders were immediately dispatched to the spot. Currently, 22 fire engines are working to cool the atmosphere.

After much effort, the fire was brought under control in more than 12 hours. Officials said that a fire broke out in a shop in the market, which immediately spread to other shops. All shops are of electrical appliances. Director of Delhi Fire Service Atul Garg told PTI on Friday.

Currently, 22 fire engines are engaged in the cooling operation. However, the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Fire officials said that due to poor infrastructure, lack of water and narrow streets, the fire crews had to struggle to put out the fire.

Garg tweeted on Thursday, “Fire at Chandni Chowk. 40 fire tenders and more than 200 firemen are on the spot. Weak infrastructure, water or less narrow lanes have become a cause of concern.''

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed grief over the incident and said that he is getting information about the situation from the concerned district administration. Sharing a news, he tweeted, "The incident of fire in Chandni Chowk's Bhagirath Palace Bazaar late last night is extremely bad."