Surat: An hour after fire-fighters douse flames in 30-hour exercise, fresh blazes erupt at Surat textile market

The fire was still burning when last reports came in.

This is the third instance of fire to have hit the textile market in as many days. On Tuesday afternoon, a fire broke out in a shop in the lower basement of the market situated on Ring Road in Surat. It took the fire officials five hours to douse the flames.

However, around 8.20 am Wednesday, fire again erupted in different floors of the market.

Sources in the Surat Fire Department said over 200 firemen divided in 10 teams were deployed to extinguish the flames before fresh fires erupted Wednesday.

Deputy chief fire officer Ishwar Patel said, “We are also surprised that the fire again broke out (on Wednesday), despite being fully controlled on Tuesday evening. The main power supply to the market was disconnected. After talking to some of the people associated with the market, we came to know that somebody had started the power supply through the generator. This might have caused a spark. Later, the fire might have started and spread to different floors.”

He further said, “On Tuesday, the fire was just limited to the lower basement area but the blaze on Wednesday was spotted in different areas on different floors. The entire market was covered in fire. We had to spread our team in all directions and cut the locks on the main doors to douse the flames.”

Wednesday onwards, security staffers of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) have been deployed round-the-clock at the scene of fire so that none, including people connected with the Shiv Shakti Textile Market, could enter the premises.

“However, around 3pm, when it had been an hour since the fire was brought under control and a few of our team members were headed to take rest, flames again started coming out from the windows on the fourth and fifth floors. The teams immediately sprung to action,” Patel said.

On Thursday afternoon, Surat city MP Mukesh Dalal, mayor Daxesh Mavani, and Standing Committee Chairman of SMC Rajan Patel along with civic body officials reached the site to examine the situation.

Meanwhile, over 10 textile markets neighbouring the Shiv Shakti market were kept closed to ensure free movement of fire tenders as there is just a single road, parallel to the Ring Road, leading to different textile markets.

Surat’s Chief Fire Officer Basant Pareek said, “The entire structure inside (the market), the columns, beams, plaster, has been weakened. It is quite risky to go inside. We have told the market authorities not to enter, till further instructions. The structure has gotten in such a bad shape that it has to be dismantled. In the coming days, the structural engineer of SMC will pay a visit to the premises. We are still trying to control the fire but it is coming from different shops on different floors…We don’t know how much time it would take to get complete control over the fire.”

Built in 1995, sources said, the Shiv Shakti Textile Market comprises a basement plus five floors with over 820 shops and a lawn of around 15 feet. The market has fire safety equipment with a fire line but no water sprinklers, said an officer involved in the extinguishing work.

Nanalal Rathod, a textile trader in Shiv Shakti Textile Market, said, “I have been running a textile trading shop here since 1995. We have seen small fire incidents before but nothing that could not be brought under control. This fire incident is horrible. My second-floor shop was gutted in the fire on Wednesday.”

He further said, “Considering the business season, we had kept a huge stock of textile fabrics worth Rs 20 lakh in the shop… everything has been burnt. Our accounts books and computer also got burnt and so did the insurance papers…”

Nirmal Jain, owner of Saket Textile market at Saroli, who was present at the site of damage, said, “If the traders (of Shiv Shakti market) wish, we can give them shops in our textile market without any deposit or rent for six months to one year. The textile traders here have faced a great loss due to the fire incident.”

Kailash Hakim from the Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association said, “Our first priority is to control the fire. A majority of the textile traders are small and used to run their businesses out of rented shops. They have faced a great loss due to the fire. The loss is estimated to be worth over Rs 400 crore. In the coming days, we will make representations to the state government and central government to help the textile traders and get their insurance claim passed in a speedy manner. A bank loan with low interest should be given to the traders so that they can restart their business.”

About the textile industry

Notably, besides the diamond industry, Surat is known for its textile trade with synthetic fabrics manufactured and processed in the city exported to different places across the country and abroad.

There are over 170 textile trading markets comprising over 70,000 shops on the Ring Road area near Surat Railway station. The daily turnover of the textile trading business is estimated to be over Rs 170 crore.

Everyday, lakhs of people can be seen in the textile market areas, which include employees of the shops, labourers, tempo drivers and their helpers carrying grey bales and collecting finished goods of the textile fabrics.

In fact, a few years ago, SMC had built flyovers on the Ring Road so that the regular traffic of the city going towards Varachha and Surat Railway Station area does not have to meet the traffic of textile markets.

The textile grey bales (unfinished cloth of over 100 metres) are purchased by traders from power loom factories and brought to the market area. From here, they are sent to different dyeing and printing mills for processing. Once that is done, it comes back to the textile market shops where it is packed and put out on display in the shops for sale.