A massive fire broke out in the shops of Bhagirath Palace market of Chandni Chowk, New Delhi on Thursday night. Around 18 to 20 fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse the fire.
The process of extinguishing is underway.
Meanwhile, no official word came on any casuality or source of the fire.
More details are awaited on the incident.
How much dense market of Chandni Chowk prepared to deal with fire incident
Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena in last month announced that the fire tenders and ambulances will soon be deployed in and around Chandni Chowk to deal with emergency situations in the area known for its heritage buildings and old markets.
Saxena has said an exercise to identify fire-prone locations for deployment of fire tenders as also for deployment of ambulances is being undertaken here by the fire department.
The "initiative will be started from Chandni Chowk before Diwali", he said.
"They complained about overhanging electric wires that often lead to fire incidents in the area and requested for LG's immediate intervention to address the issue," the Raj Niwas said in a statement.
They brought to his notice, several restrictions and problems that not only affected their daily businesses but also caused hardships to a large number of people, particularly the elderly, women and children, residing in the area, it said.
A stretch of Chandni Chowk has been revamped as part of the Delhi government's redevelopment project.
Delhi chief secretary, special officer of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), special commissioner of police (traffic) and several other senior officers of MCD, Public Works Department (PWD) and Delhi Police accompanied the LG during the visit, it said.
The LG was also informed that apart from over 60 katras that attract lakhs of people every day, nearly 60,000 people also reside in the narrow bylanes of Chandni Chowk and massive congestion often leads to fire and medical emergencies, it said.
The LG instructed officials to identify and develop one 'katra' as a pilot, and later replicate the model to other katras and markets in Chandni Chowk, the statement said.
The redevelopment of the katra envisages facade improvement, removing overhanging electric wires, repair of footpaths, drainage and repair and maintenance of street lights among other works, it said.
In October, the Delhi Fire Service formed an internal committee headed by the Chief Fire Officer to identify 50 mishap-prone spots in the national capital where mobile fire tenders can be deployed, an official said on Sunday.
Places like Chandi Chowk and Sadar Bazar may have fire stations nearby but due to the congested and narrow lanes, the tenders take time to reach there, a mobile fire tender and PCR van will reach such places in the shortest time possible.
(With agencies input)
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