No Preparation On Diwali: Mehbooba Mufti Slams Omar Abdullah Over Jammu Fire

A day after a massive blaze destroyed several shops in Jammu's Warehouse area, the blame game has begun over the response to the blaze, with People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti accusing the Omar Abdullah government of failing to prevent or effectively respond to the incident.

After meeting affected shopkeepers, Mehbooba Mufti alleged that fire tenders reached the spot late and the some of the vehicles were too small and lacked adequate water pressure.

"A very big tragedy has happened. The losses are enormous. There has been a loss of about Rs 200-300 crore due to this fire," she said.

Over a dozen shops were completely damaged in a massive fire that broke out in a warehouse complex near Bikram Chowk in Jammu on Sunday evening.

Calling the Warehouse area the hub of business in Jammu, Mehbooba Mufti said traders affected by the recent Shiv Market fire were yet to be compensated.

"There was a fire in Shiv Market a few days ago, and the affected shopkeepers have still not been compensated," she said.

"It is shameful that there was no preparedness from the government's side on Diwali. Who will compensate for such a huge loss?" she added.

She said many traders had sold their jewellery to set up their businesses and had now lost everything in the blaze.

She claimed the fire brigade reached late and lacked the resources needed to tackle a fire of such magnitude.

Mehbooba Mufti demanded that the government should seek assistance from the Centre and announce a special relief package for traders affected by the fires in both Shiv Market and the Warehouse area.

"There is already widespread unemployment. Each shop provided employment to 10 to 12 people," she said, adding that hundreds of families had been pushed into distress due to the losses caused by the fire.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said he would brief Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about the losses suffered by traders in the fire.

"I have seen tears in their eyes. The loss is huge. I will brief the Chief Minister about it," he told reporters after visiting the affected area.

The Deputy Chief Minister said several shopkeepers had raised concerns over the response of the Fire and Emergency Services Department, alleging that fire tenders did not reach the spot on time.

"I will submit this report to the Chief Minister. They want an inquiry into the matter and action against those found responsible," he said.