Bakery, handloom shop gutted in Panchkula market

Panchkula, May 11

A massive fire erupted at a bakery and quickly spread to an adjoining handloom showroom in Sector 11 here in the wee hours of today, triggering panic among residents.

The fire department was alerted and fire tenders were rushed to the scene to control the blaze. It took firefighters nearly 10 hours to douse the blaze, which engulfed ‘Singh Bakers’ and the ground and first floors of ‘Gagan Handloom’.

The fire was brought under control within a few hours, but it took around 10 hours to douse it completely.

The bakery and the first floor of the handloom shop were gutted. The extent of the damage was estimated to be in crores of rupees.

Area councillor Omwati Punia said she learnt about the incident around 3 am, following which she alerted the fire department and police.

Tarsem Lal, District Fire Officer, said fire tenders from across the district were pressed into service. Bakery owner Jaspal Singh said he had built the business from scratch over the years and had invested his life’s savings in the bakery. “I have suffered a loss of around Rs 3 crore. It is painful to watch dreams go up in flames,” he said.

Jaspal said the fire quickly spread to the handloom shop at the rear of his bakery and mobile shop. The handloom showroom owner also suffered losses as stored goods were destroyed.

The authorities cordoned off the affected area to prevent further damage.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, and the authorities launched an investigation to determine the exact reason.

Haryana Speaker and local MLA Gian Chand Gupta said he had directed senior officials of the district administration to investigate the matter and chalk out an effective strategy to prevent such incidents in the future.

The Speaker said he had instructed the authorities concerned to provide necessary documents to the affected shopkeepers so that they could seek compensation under the rules from insurance firms.

Gupta said the market association had requested him to remove illegal hoardings in front of showrooms in Sector 11 and that he had instructed the municipal corporation to take appropriate action in this regard.

Losses run into crores of rupees

• Fire breaks out in Sec 11 bakery around 3 am; fire dept & police are alerted
• Blaze spread to handloom showroom at the rear of bakery and mobile shop
• Fire tenders from entire district pressed into service, douse it after 10 hours
• Bakery and first floor of handloom shop gutted; losses are estimated to be in crores