Numaish to reopen with ‘increased’ fire safety

HYDERABAD: Apart from the 303 stalls gutted in the massive fire, the rest of the Numaish exhibition will reopen for public Saturday. However, the re-start after the two-day halt of Thursday and Friday, is expected to be dull since some of the most popular stalls including the Kashmiri clothing and dry fruit stalls, shall remain closed. Visitors wanting to go on Saturday can expect a good discount from many of the stalls.

As the popular exhibition resumes there will be changes to the existing fire preparedness signed up by the AIIE. Instead of two, four fire tenders will be stationed on the 23-acre campus. “We have suggested to have water barrels and sand buckets at frequent intervals across the site, to localise fire in case one breaks out again. We have also asked for increased gap between existing stalls,” said a senior official at the State department of disaster response and fire services. 

“The exhibition will re-open on Saturday and will function as usual. Stalls that got gutted will be provided with space, mostly, by Monday when arrangements shall be made for them,” informed a committee member of the AIIE.  

Portraying a humane nature, students from Telangana Minority Residential Educational Institution Society (TMREIS) and members of the Sikh community served food to those who lost their stalls. Several political leaders and NGOs also supplied food to the fire victims. It may be mentioned that most of the outstation traders had turned their stalls in to temporary homes. They would sleep, cook and dine in their stalls for the entire period.

Major fire breaks out in Shamshabad
A major fire broke out at a cooler manufacturing unit in Shamshabad on Friday. A gas cylinder inside the unit exploded, breaking a few window panes that were adjacent to the unit. So far, no injuries or casualties have been reported. The building was cracked following the mishap. Reportedly, the incident occurred due to a short-circuit in the ground floor of the building.