Double whammy for traders in Crawford after fire guts shops while water to douse it ruins their raw material
Walls of many shops came down as wooden stairs caught fire
Several traders lost raw material worth lakhs in the fire that affected approximately 200 shops in the cutlery and imitation jewellery market near South Mumbai's Abdul Rehman street on Sunday. The fire occured between Janjikar street and Sutar chawl. The fire had been brought under control on Sunday itself and cooling operations were being conducted till Tuesday. The fire brigade allowed all traders to collect their raw materials placed at the entrance of the shops but no one was allowed inside.
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Janjikar Street and Sutar chawl have around 300 shops and of these, approximately 200 were affected. Walls of many shops collapsed as wooden stairs caught fire.
Many of the traders in the area were operating out of rented shops
Asharam Solanki, who has been running a cutlery shop in the area for 25 years, said, "Material worth lakhs was burnt in the fire. The fire broke out on Sunday at 4 pm and we escaped from the shops. It happened due to a short circuit in the electric board. The fire was controlled by 8 pm but it broke out again suddenly. There were six apartments above the shops were three cylinders also blasted off. Thankfully people were alert and escaped in time. No one was injured. However, there has been a huge monetary loss."
Trader Satra Ram, who hails from Rajashthan, said, "In this lane, many Rajasthanis have shops and all are on rent. My shops and godown also got burnt. I have suffered a loss of around Rs 40 lakh. Even if the fire did not damage the raw material, the water being used to douse it definitely will."
Asharam Solanki, a trader
No light, no water
Electricity in the area has been disconnected. This, in turn, has led to water pumps shutting down and residents are having to manage without water. It was not clear when exactly electricity will be restored.
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