TEAM HERALD
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MARGAO: A major fire gutted five shops at Mobor-Cavelossim on Wednesday morning, destroying property worth lakhs of rupees.
While preliminary estimates by the fire services have put the loss of property between Rs 15 and 20 lakhs, the owners have claimed a huge loss of nearly Rs one crore.
The incident occurred after 9 am when the fire broke out in one of the shops dealing in garments, jewellery and handicraft items due to a suspected short circuit. Immediately, the staff of the Radisson Blue hotel led by Sanjay Pagi along with locals started the firefighting operations with the help of a fire hydrant hose to contain the fire before the fire brigade joined in.
Pagi told Herald that that he saw 2 to 3 shops outside the Hotel’s event gate on fire. “Immediately, I along with the pool boys brought the fire hydrant hose and started the firefighting operation. The locals also joined. We almost brought the fire under control after 45 minutes”, he said.
Locals also appreciated the timely intervention of the staff of Radisson Blue in controlling the fire and preventing a major fire disaster with a host of establishments and hotels located within the vicinity.
Fire Officer Gill De Sa said five shops were gutted. He put the estimated loss to around Rs 15 lakh, but said the fire services are awaiting the owners to submit their estimates.
A shop owner Mustaq Ahmed said he has suffered a loss of around Rs 30 lakh. “All the items, including handicrafts, jewellery, garments etc have been gutted”, he added.
