Nearly 400 makeshift shops gutted near Chandigarh

Submitted by Tarique Anwar on 1 June 2007 - 1:26pm.

By IANS

Chandigarh : Nearly 400 makeshift shops were destroyed Friday in a devastating fire that broke out in a busy market of Mohali town adjoining Chandigarh.


Though no loss of life was reported, goods worth millions of rupees were destroyed.

The fire was first noticed in Phase 3-B-I of Mohali town, 10 km from here, around 5 a.m.

Within minutes, the blaze engulfed the market where makeshift shops lined up in a congested manner.

Nearly 50 fire tenders from Mohali, Chandigarh, Panchkula and other nearby areas were rushed to the spot to control the fire that also threatened a nearby residential area.

It took hours for the fire fighters to bring the blaze under control. Shop-owners rushed to the spot to save whatever they could, but the flames did not leave much for them to retrieve.