VASCO: Six shops were gutted in a fire at Zuari Nagar in the wee hours of Wednesday.
While five shops were dealing in vegetables, one shop was used to repair electrical appliances. According to neighbours, the fire broke out and the six wooden structures were quickly charred in the flames.
The neighbours could not ascertain the exact cause of fire, but suspect that it could be due to rivalry among the shopkeepers.
When contacted, Verna fire officials stated that three fire tenders from Verna, Zuari Agro Chemical Ltd, and Vasco were pressed into service. Estimating the losses at Rs 3.07 lakh, the fire fighters said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.
Sancoale Sarpanch Ramakant Borkar, who visited the site, stated that the site was earlier a fish market. “However over a period of time, migrants encroached in the area and started selling vegetables by pushing the actual fish vendors by the roadside,” said Borkar.
“A few days ago, some panch members and I had inspected the area. During the inspection, we had received a complaint from the shopkeepers that one person was encroaching into some other area and there was growing unhappiness among the shopkeepers.”
“The fire could well be due to enmity between shopkeepers as most of them were claiming that the land belonged to them. The panchayat will now demarcate the shop area and allot it to the vegetable and the fish vendors to avoid further confusion,’ he added.
