Razed: Fire engulfs market, 124 shops gutted

Separately, an unidentified assailant burnt down four shops in Haripur.

HARIPUR/ PESHAWAR:

Around 124 shops were gutted in a huge fire at Auqaf Plaza in Andar Shahar early Saturday morning.

Andar Shahar is the main gold market of the city where jewellery is made. The fire broke out around 2:30am inside one of the shops and engulfed the entire market within minutes. It took fire fighters more than nine hours to bring the fire under control, finally managing to extinguish it around 10am.

Around 124 shops, however, were razed to the ground, inflicting loss of millions of rupees.

“Luckily, there was no loss of life and we have finally controlled the fire after nine hours of fire fighting. The entire market is made of bricks and wood, which is why shops were completely destroyed in the blaze,” said Bilal Faizi, an official of Rescue 1122, adding that the most likely cause of the fire was a short circuit.



While talking to The Express Tribune, Abdul Qadir Saraf, one of the shop owners, asked the government to provide compensation so they can restart their businesses. “It (the fire) has caused loss of millions. We should be given relaxation in rent for three years,” he added.

This was the second such incident in the same market in the past two years as furnaces located in the congested area pose a high risk.

Separately, an unidentified man burned down four shops in Musa Traders plaza in Lora Bazaar, Haripur, informed a watchman of the area. The police, however, suspects the fire was caused by a short circuit.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2014.