Cotton worth Rs5 cr gutted in Abohar unit

Abohar, November 15

Hundreds of cotton bales, stacked in an open plinth, were gutted in fire, believed to have been sparked by a cracker that fell in a private yard on Saturday night.

Preliminary inquiry indicated that smoke was found emanating from a cotton yard at Bansal Industries, located on the old Fazilka road. Staff immediately informed factory owner Naresh Pal Bansal who called the fire brigade. The first vehicle reportedly arrived within 15 minutes. As the fire was spreading fast, another fire tender was called from Fazilka, about 32 km from here. It is leant that about 2,500 bales of ginned and processed cotton and 1,600 quintal of unprocessed cotton produce was damaged. The loss is estimated to be Rs 5 crore.

Most of the stack belonged to Cotton Corporation of India that started purchase in Abohar market last month. The fire tenders were able to control fire after six hours. — OC