TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: As many as 38 open stalls went up in flames after a massive fire broke out at the Panjim Municipal Market in the early hours of Monday. Fortunately, no casualties were reported but the total loss is said to run to more than Rs 42 lakh.
A large amount of fruits, vegetables, flowers and items of worship, besides market property was gutted that started at about 3am. From prima facie investigations, fire department assumes it was short-circuit that led to the fire. However, certain officials including the police suspect it could be a consequence of some mischievous act by unidentified miscreants.
“It could be due to short-circuit or probably mischievous act since security guards are on strike and miscreants probably took advantage of this situation to set the stalls on fire. But it is too premature to say anything now. We have sought for an inquiry report from the Panjim police,” a fire officer told Herald.
A total of 21 fire fighters and four fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire. In charge of Panjim fire station, Rupesh Sawant said that 40,000 litres of water were used in the fire fighting operations.
“We rushed with one fire tender within 30 seconds of the emergency call. At the site, we observed that the fire was of high intensity and immediately summoned three more. To ensure that the fire does not spread across the ground floor, our personnel used three sides of the building to douse the fire,” Sawant said.
Fire Director Ashok Menon and other fire officers rushed to the site to assist the fire prevention operation. Congress President Luizinho Faleiro, spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar, Congress leader Ezilda Sapeco, and CCP Commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues met with the affected vendors at the site. Sapeco has urged the government to release funds from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the victims.
