Kanpur shopping complex fire doused after 38-hr operation

Kanpur: The fire at a commercial complex that gutted over 800 shops in Kanpur was finally doused Saturday afternoon after a 38-hour operation in which 60 fire tenders were pressed into service.

The round-the-clock operation involved manpower from police, fire department, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

Firefighters on Saturday entered the still smouldering building to take stock of the situation on every floor, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Pramod Kumar.

At least 800 shops were gutted in the fire that had broken out in a multi-storey commercial building and quickly spread to adjacent towers in the Bansmandi area here early Friday.

According to the senior official, goods and cash worth over Rs 500 crore were gutted in the blaze.

DCP Kumar said that the fire-fighting operation did slow down during night hours as the firemen and police personnel were tired.

The buildings have developed big cracks with debris falling from towers posing a threat to people.

Strong winds on Friday night fanned the flames towards adjoining commercial and residential buildings. Smoke and fear that fire may spread to their houses forced people in the vicinity to leave for safer places, Mohammad Bilal, a local resident, said.

There were no reports of any casualty as all shops were closed when the fire broke out, said the DCP, adding, however, a 40-year-old man named Gyan Chand, who worked in one of the shops, was said to be missing.

The search has been launched by police and firemen to locate him.

Ashok Agarwal, a trader, said that each of his shops in AR and Masood tower was completely gutted.

"I had stocked hosiery items due to high demand during the festival season after taking loans from friends and relatives," he said.

Another businessman, Kamal Kumar, whose shop is situated in Nafees Tower, lost everything in the fire, including his ledgers and other documents.

A four-member committee headed by Additional DM (Finance and Revenue) Rajesh Kumar has been formed to probe the incident and assess the losses, District Magistrate Vishal G Ayyar said on Friday.

Additional Municipal Commissioner, Joint Director, Trade Tax, and chief fire officer are its other members.

The committee was formed following the instructions of Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak who also inspected the incident site Friday and met the shopkeepers whose shops were destroyed in fire.

"Our government stands with the businessmen in this hour of sorrow and we will not leave them alone," Pathak said.

The divisional commissioner and police commissioner have been asked to submit a report to the government about the damage caused by the fire.