Jammu: The Warehouse-Nehru Market federation on Monday announced a shutdown of Jammu’s largest wholesale grain market till Wednesday in support of the demand for strict action against Fire and Emergency Services officials whose alleged negligence contributed to the massive fire that gutted 10 shops the previous night.
Federation President Deepak Gupta said the decision was taken unanimously at a meeting of senior members, as no action had been initiated against the officials concerned.
“We are clearly stating that timely action by the Fire and Emergency Services Department could have prevented the extent of the damage. We demand strict action against officials whose negligence contributed to the incident. However, the entire administration cannot be held responsible,” he said.
Gupta said timely intervention by the administration and police prevented the fire from spreading across the entire market, but stressed that accountability must be fixed for the damage caused.
He also appealed to political leaders not to politicise the tragedy, alleging that some were exploiting the incident for political gains.
Raising a long-pending demand, Gupta urged the government to allot land outside Jammu city for construction of godowns for Warehouse-Nehru Market traders, saying the lack of storage facilities had contributed to the spread of the fire as goods were kept outside shops.
He said the Federation had been pursuing the demand for nearly a decade and called for its immediate resolution to prevent similar losses in the future.
Former J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed solidarity with the affected traders and their families, saying that the incident has dealt a severe financial blow to people who depend on their businesses for their livelihood.
He urged the government to immediately assess the losses, ensure proper rehabilitation of the affected traders and announce adequate compensation without delay.
Azad said the affected business owners should not be left to bear the enormous financial burden alone.
He also stressed the need for a comprehensive review of fire safety arrangements in commercial establishments and markets to prevent such devastating incidents in the future.
In a related development, J&K BJP has constituted a six-member MLA committee to assess the losses suffered by traders at the Nehru Market and Shiv Market near Jammu railway station, where a devastating fire gutted dozens of shops on October 25.
The committee will subsequently take up the matter with the Government to ensure time-bound relief and rehabilitation, a BJP spokesman said, adding the committee will also pursue the demand for allowing MLAs to utilise their Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to extend assistance to the affected traders.
