Massive fire at Surat textile market, 7 shops gutted

According to the Surat Fire Department, there was a huge rush of customers in the Sanghini Hub-2 textile market on Monday. Sources pointed out that before the Diwali holidays, a large number of buyers from other states across the country reach Surat to buy sarees and fabrics.

Divisional Fire Officer (Varachha Zone) Krishna Modh said, “The fire broke out in a large store section – comprising seven shops – on the first floor of the six-storey textile market building. The fire spread rapidly after coming into contact with synthetic material stored in the shops and spread to neighbouring shops as well. After the fire alarm call was made, the customers, textile traders and employees immediately exited the affected floor.”

An employee in the building informed the fire department around 3 pm.

Modh said, “Over 100 people of the Surat Fire Department were involved in the operation. First, we stopped the flames from spreading to other shops and after an operation that lasted four hours, we brought the fire under control. Cooling activities are underway. The blaze broke out at a shop named Mitesh Fabrics.”

He added, “Burning synthetic fabrics generated dense smoke on the first floor and when our team reached there, one of our firemen lost consciousness. He was immediately shifted to a hospital.”

The local police also reached the spot and started taking statements from the textile market manager and others.

The incident comes weeks after a major fire on the sixth floor of Shyam Sangini textile market, which is located near the Sangini Hub-2 market, on September 11. A total of 16 shops overstocked with synthetic fabrics were gutted, causing a loss of around Rs 24 crore to the owners. Police checked CCTV footage and identified a youth, Vinod Salve, who had earlier worked at a shop on the sixth floor. It was found that Salve  sparked the fire over an alleged “pending payment” of Rs 10,000 of his salary despite repeated requests to the shop owner. Salve was later arrested.

Later on Monday, Hansraj Jain, president of the Surat Trade and Textile Association, appealed to all the textile markets in the city to keep their shops in the textile markets open on Sundays till Diwali. There are over 240 textile markets housing more than 75,000 textile trading shops in Surat city.

In a statement, Jain said the initiative was for the benefit of traders during the Diwali season and “allow outstation buyers more time to visit Surat and make purchases.”