Karanja Lad, A massive fire broke out at Bothra Ginning unit in Dhanaj (Bk) village in Washim district on Wednesday that gutted more than 2,000 quintals of cotton worth crores of rupees. The incident occurred at around 1 pm, triggering panic among workers and residents as flames rapidly spread through the cotton stock stored in the open premises of the ginning unit. According to information, approximately 7,000 quintals of cotton had been stored in an open area within the premises of Bothra Ginning. On Wednesday afternoon, a truck carrying cotton from Arni had arrived at the unit, and the process of unloading the consignment was underway. During the operation, the hot silencer of the truck reportedly came into contact with the cotton, triggering a fire in one of the cotton heaps. The fire spread rapidly in a large portion in a short time.

 

Considering the possibility of the flames engulfing the entire cotton stock, workers and local residents immediately began efforts to shift the unaffected cotton heaps away from the fire. A tractor was pressed into service to move the cotton and prevent the blaze from spreading further. However, during the operation, the tractor itself caught fire, adding to the panic. Alert local youths immediately switched off the tractor and managed to extinguish the flames, preventing another potentially serious incident. Meanwhile, villagers, workers and local residents joined hands to contain the rapidly spreading fire.

 

The fire brigade from Karanja Lad was alerted and called to the scene to bring the blaze under control. However, the firefighting vehicle reportedly developed a mechanical fault near Akhatwada after a rod was damaged while travelling along the poor road. Consequently, the fire engine could not reach the ginning premises, delaying professional firefighting assistance at a critical moment. With no immediate assistance from the fire brigade, villagers and local youths launched a determined effort to control the flames using available water resources. Their collective efforts helped prevent the fire from spreading to the remaining cotton stock and other areas of the premises. Nevertheless, more than 2,000 quintals of cotton were destroyed before the situation could be brought under control. Another major difficulty arose from the fact that the entire village was without electricity when the incident occurred. Power supply had been suspended due to ongoing transformer-related work.

 

The absence of electricity added to the challenges faced by those attempting to respond to the emergency and hampered immediate efforts to tackle the fire. The incident has once again highlighted concerns over emergency response arrangements and the condition of roads connecting villages, particularly when firefighting vehicles are required to reach accident sites without delay. Sunil Bothra, owner of Bothra Ginning, confirmed that nearly 2,000 quintals of cotton had been gutted in the fire. He said the blaze was triggered when the hot silencer of the truck came into contact with the cotton during unloading. He also expressed appreciation for the local youths and workers who made strenuous efforts to bring the fire under control. Their timely intervention helped prevent the flames from spreading further and saved a substantial portion of the cotton stock. The incident has caused considerable financial damage to the ginning unit and raised concerns over fire safety arrangements at establishments where large quantities of highly inflammable cotton are stored.