The fire which engulfed the Shivshakti Market on the Ring Road in Surat on Wednesday continued to blaze till Thursday evening. In all, it took the firefighters 32 hours and 80 lakh litres of water to bring the inferno under control. The city had to call in reinforcements from fire departments of all municipalities across South Gujarat to battle the fire that gutted over 500 of the 853 shops in the market. The loss from the fire is estimated to be around Rs 700 crore.
The fire that raged on for 32 hours also ended up destabilising the structures in the market. The high temperature resulted in steel structures melting which in turn has weakened the slabs and columns of the fourth and fifth floors.
The fire was reportedly a result of a minor spark in the basement on Tuesday evening. Fire officials said the fire was initially reported on Tuesday but was brought under control. However, droplets of water in the wiring of the building caused the flames to break out again on Wednesday and it is suspected that someone may have switched on the electricity supply. Firefighters said it was difficult to move from one floor to another due to the raging flames. Director of State Fire Department Anil Chavda also rushed to Surat following the incident.
History of the market
Built in 1996 by two brothers Bhupat and Arun Patel, the Shivshakti Market had 137 shops on one floor. Later it went on to have 853 shops which also included those that were legalised under the impact fee norms.
Textiles fanned the flames
The fire gained strength due to the presence of polyester and synthetic fabrics which are made from petroleum products. Officials said this is why in such markets many times even after the fire is completely controlled, it can flare up again from ashes.
“We have sought a report on the shops in the basement of the building,” said Mayor of Surat, Dakshesh Mawani.
NOC under scanner
Sources said CM Bhupendra Patel was continuously reviewing the situation. MoS home Harsh Sanghavi said they would order a survey to get details of the fire NOC given to the market and whether it was as per norms.