We have lost everything and are now on the road. These are not just shops that were gutted, but lives of hundreds of people have also been destroyed,” said Naved, a Kashmiri vendor whose Pashmina shawls shop turned to ashes on Wednesday after a fire broke out at Dilli Haat.
There are more than 30 people such as Naved who have lost their livelihood in the fire incident. “I have lost my entire life’s savings. We had set up this stall by taking a loan. Everything we earned over the years is just gone,” said the owner of shop no 4.
“The rent for running a shop inside Dilli Haat costs around Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh a month which is too much to pay for a small vendor like us,” said Sameer, who sells jewellery.
A massive fire broke out at Dilli Haat on Wednesday night where 30 shops were gutted, officials said. No casualties were reported in the incident and the fire was brought under control, according to the Delhi Fire Services.
Traders claim the fire was caused due to a short circuit, while no official cause of fire has been declared yet. The fire started in the shops built on the stage at the rear of Dilli Haat. The blaze spread so quickly that many shops were reduced to ashes in a few minutes, said eyewitness. Most of the shops that caught fire were of clothes, jewellery and antiques, among others. A large number of these shops were run by people who had come from Jammu and Kashmir to earn their livelihood.
While one of the shop owners claimed that goods worth of Rs 10 crore have been destroyed, another, Shauket Ahmed, said that he alone suffered a loss of around Rs 1.5 crore.
“Sab kuchh khatm ho gaya, ghar me biwi hai, do bacche hain, dukaan se hi ghar chalta tha, ab dukaan hi nahin hai, pata nahin kaise zinda rahenge. (We have lost everything; I have a wife and two children at home. Shop is the only source of income, and now without this shop, it has become difficult for us to survive),” said Chhote Lal Sharma, who not only lost his shop in the fire but also suffered severe burn injuries when he tried to salvage goods from the blaze.
“I was sitting in my shop when a power cut took place in mine and three other nearby shops. But by the time we could understand anything, the fire engulfed our shops and spread to more than 10 shops. I became very anxious and tried to save goods from the blaze, but ended up burning myself,” added Chhote Lal.
While demanding compensation from the Government, he said, “We do not want anything but just compensation from the Government to start everything all over again.”
Delhi Fire Services Chief Atul Garg, in a statement said, “We received a call regarding a fire at the Dilli Haat at 8.45 pm, and 14 fire engines were rushed to the spot. A total of 30 shops were gutted in the fire. The fire has been extinguished, and no injuries were reported.”
Some shopkeepers claimed that there were no proper fire safety arrangements at Dilli Haat. Vijai Kumar, who sells Madhubani paintings, said the fire spread rapidly due to the lack of firefighting equipments.
“It took the fire brigade nearly one-and-a-half hours to reach the spot. There were no adequate arrangements in place to help us respond to such an emergency,” Kumar said.
Dilli Haat is famous for handicraft items, which are popular across the country. After hearing the news of the fire, Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra reached the spot and assured the shop owners that they will be given a justified compensation and will be allotted land to relocate their shops.
The Dilli Haat market will remain closed till May 3. A forensic team had arrived at the spot and collected the samples for further proceedings, said officials. In the coming days, a meeting is likely to take place between Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Misra and the vendors who lost their shops in the fire, said sources.