Srinagar, Jan 9: Panic gripped industrial estate Bagh-e-Ali Mardan Khan here, Wednesday, when fire broke out from a unit destroying property worth lakhs of rupees. However, no one was hurt in the incident, officials said.
 Muhammad Yaseen Khan owner of the unit told Greater Kashmir that at 5:30 AM, the fire broke out in the unit and within no time engulfed its two buildings.
 “We could not save anything. All the things were reduced to ashes including 175 needle work machines, 100 power run motors,14 sewing machines,  thread binding machine, Pashmina Shawls, Suits, staple silk, raw material, etc,” he said. 
 “Property around worth Rs 50 lakh was gutted in the devastating fire”, Khan claimed.
 According to witnesses it took over half-an-hour to the fire brigade to reach the spot after it was called. “They (the fire brigade) were ill-equipped,” the witnesses said.
 President, Kashmir Small Scale Industries Association Bagh-e-Ali Mardan Khan, Syed Fazal Illahi said: “Had there been proper fire fighting mechanism in place inside the estate, the loss could have been minimized. We have been time and again pleaded before the Industries Department to equip every estate with fire tenders but to no avail, there has no positive response to our pleas.”
 To mention, this is the third fire incident in any industrial estate of the Kashmir Valley in the past two years. “In all the cases losses would have been minimal had there been proper fire fighting mechanism in place,” Illahi said. 
 Earlier, a leading plastic manufacturing unit at Rangreth was reduced to ashes when a fire broke out destroying property worth millions of rupees.
 The unit holders are annoyed at government failure to well equip the industrial estates like Bagh-e-Ali Mardan Khan, Rangreth , Ganderbal , Zainakote and other estates.
 Referring to Jammu estates, the unit holders said industrial hubs like that at Bari Brahmana have a full-fledged Fire Station in place.
 “But here they (government) play with our life, property and business prospects,” said an entrepreneur.
 The unit holders at Bagh-e- Ali Mardan Khan have appealed the government to get a fire-station established at the estate at the earliest.
 Meanwhile, police have registered FIR. “We have registered FIR in this regard,” said SHO Lal Bazar Police station, Nazir Ahmad.
 When contacted, Director Industries, Mehraj ud Din Kenu, said: “We ensure that all the industrial estates are equipped with fire fighting devices and fire tenders are in place at all the estates. There is dire need of such things and we do whatever possible from us in this regard.” 

Lastupdate on : Wed, 9 Jan 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 9 Jan 2013 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 IST