A MASSIVE fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon in a threestorey garment manufacturing unit located behind Satna Building in Lordganj’s Supermarket area. The factory, operated by Amit Jain, was closed due to the weekly off. Costly machinery, furniture and a large stock of raw and finished garments worth lakhs of rupees were gutted in the incident. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

 

Since the unit was closed and no workers were present, the fire went unnoticed until smoke reached the front side. Locals spotted the fumes and flames and immediately informed the owner. They also informed the Fire Department of the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC). After receiving the information, the civic body pressed six fire tenders and tankers into action. Senior JMC officials, including Municipal Commissioner Ramprakash Ahirwar along with police teams also reached the site.

 

Firefighters had to made herculean efforts to control the flames. They sprayed water from the tenders and battled the blaze for several hours, finally bringing it under control by evening. Fire fighters faced difficulty as extinguished sections kept reigniting due to multiple layers of cloth stored on different floors. Residents in adjoining buildings were evacuated as a precaution while fire personnel worked to contain the blaze. Amit Jain, when contacted said he runs the manufacturing unit Pooja Garments Industry in Satna Building.

 

He received information about the fire around 11.30 am. Jain said he manufactures shirts, kurtas, pyjamas and similar garments. He added that expensive machines, including fusion units, boilers, every type of modern sewing machines and other equipment were charred in the blaze. When asked about the loss, he declined to comment. However, sources estimate the loss at more than one crore rupees.