Anwarganj mkt fire refuses to die, losses estimated at ₹2,200cr

Kanpur: Efforts of multiple agencies over the past two days have failed to extinguish completely the fire that broke out in five commercial complexes, considered Uttar Pradesh’s biggest hub of readymade garments in the Anwarganj/Bansmandi area of Kanpur, on Thursday night.
After Lucknow and Prayagraj, a hydraulic platform machine from Agra was pressed into service to douse the fire. Spraying several lakhs litres of water out by firemen, NDRF and SDRF and Army personnel failed to extinguish the fire till Sunday evening. A team of IIT-Kanpur is doing a technical investigation into the cause of the fire, while a loss of Rs 2,200 cr has been estimated by the market association. Experts said it may take the stakeholders four to five years to recover from the damage to 800 business establishments located in the five Commercial complexes. The traders were preparing for big business ahead of Eid ul Fitr and the subsequent marriage season. Traders said that apart from majority of the districts of the state, their stock was purchased by retail traders in the border districts of several states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
After cutting open shutters and walls of the shops mechanically, water was being sprayed, to extinguish the fire. A hydraulic platform machine had to be roped in from Agra on Sunday. State Bank of India building located adjacently also came in the grip of fire on Saturday, hence, lockers and currency chest of the bank were extracted from the building.
A team comprising members of IIT’s Civil Engineering department, PWD and municipal corporation was formed in on Saturday to survey the buildings, but the flames and blaze were so strong that the team could not enter the affected buildings.
According to the rescue team, the situation is still not out of danger and it may take two more days to control the fire completely.
Two teams comprising 30 members each from NDRF and SDRF reached the spot on Saturday afternoon. The team in its survey found some lapses in the initial rescue operation. Both teams jointly attempted extinguishing the fire by cutting the shutters and walls of the complexes to douse the flames within the shops. The flames in AR tower were so strong, the team could not move from ground floor to the first floor. The inside and rear portions of the complexes are burning fiercely.
Joint commissioner of police Anand Prakash Tiwari said, “Major cracks have developed in different portions of the buildings, making it too risky to go inside. The invesigating team will submit its report, based on which a decision will be taken to demolish the buildings further,” he said.