A fire that broke out early Tuesday morning outside the godown of Ethernet Express, near the KTC bus depot in Porvorim, destroyed optical fibre cable stock valued at ₹1 crore and damaged two tempos. The company suspects foul play and believes the incident may be a case of arson.
According to Deputy Fire Officer Sunny Faide from the Pilerne Fire Station, the fire brigade received an alert at approximately 8:35 a.m. and quickly dispatched a fire tender to the location. However, the flames proved challenging to control as they kept reigniting. A JCB was eventually brought in to separate the entangled fibre optic cables, which allowed firefighters to fully extinguish the blaze after about 90 minutes.
The fire completely gutted the stored optical fibre cables. Two tempos, bearing registration numbers GA-03-N-7146 and GA-03AH-0823, also sustained damage in the incident.
While the exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined, Ethernet Express has raised suspicions of deliberate sabotage. Porvorim PSI Sitaram Malik and Constable Madan Tari later conducted a panchnama at the scene, and an investigation is currently underway.