Forty-two shops were burnt down in a fire in an electronics market situated at Abdullah Haroon Road in Saddar late on Monday night resulting in losses of millions of rupees to the shop owners, eyewitnesses and Fire Brigade officials said on Tuesday. The fire is believed to have been caused by electricity short-circuit.
City fire brigade chief Ehteshamuddin told PPI that the fire broke out at about 1 am at the ground flour of the three-storeyed building, comprising over 100 shops. It engulfed the whole ground floor.
As the stocks of mobile phones, their accessories and domestic appliances like television sets, fridge and air-conditioners were kept in the godowns on second floor, the fire also reached there. The fire tenders immediately reached the scene and started rescue operation. Eighteen vehicles including a snorkel, a rescue unit and fire engines took part in the operation.
He said the fire-fighters bravely fought fire and stopped it from wreaking havoc at upper floors. The fire was controlled by 5:30 am, he claimed. Ehtesham blamed the occurrence of blaze on poor electricity wiring and said that the 'criminal Kundas' led to the mishap and the losses. He said that a dozen shops dealing in mobile phones and domestic appliances were completely gutted, while 30 others suffered partial damage.
The fire brigade official said that help from Rangers' headquarters was also sought for supply of additional water. The President of Hashmi Centre Electronic Association, Muhammad Farooq, also owner of a burnt shop, said that he had lost everything.
He held the owner of market building responsible for the mishap, saying that the shopkeepers had got possession of their shops in 1992, but were yet to be provided with electric meters. He said that due to poor wiring and lack of proper connections this was the fifth time that Hashmi Centre had caught fire.
He demanded of the government to take action against the owner of the market. He also demanded compensation for the affected businessmen. He claimed that they had informed the related KESC office many times, but it did not take any action to provide them proper connection and electricity meters. He also demanded an inquiry to book those responsible.
Muhammad Khurram, of Faisal Electronics, said that his shop was completely burnt, along with Rs 0.3 million cash. Ali Manzil, a fire brigade worker, said that they put out the fire at 7.30 am. He said 12 shops were burnt completely.
Saleem Malwani, of Malwani Electronics, Khawar of Mashallah Electronics, Rafique of Raffique Appliances, Mohsin Darwaish of S.K Electronics, Khalid of AR Electronics, Arshad of Active Electronics were among the most affected traders.