Firefighters are working tirelessly to control the blaze at Surat’s Shiv Shakti Textile Market. As of this article’s publication, more than 39 hours have passed since the fire reportedly broke out around 2 pm on Tuesday.
After 30 hours of extensive efforts, the firefighters managed to douse the initial flames. However, fresh outbreaks of fire occurred on two floors of the five-storey building, prompting personnel to return to duty to control the blaze.
The electricity supply to the market complex was shut off for safety reasons.
As of the last reports, the fire is still burning.
Constructed in 1995, the Shiv Shakti Textile Market consists of a basement and five floors, housing more than 820 shops and a 15-foot lawn. According to an officer involved in the firefighting efforts, the market is equipped with fire safety gear and a fire line but lacks water sprinklers.
This is the third fire to strike the textile market in just three days. On Tuesday afternoon, a fire broke out in a shop located in the lower basement of the market on Surat’s Ring Road. It took fire officials five hours to bring the flames under control.
Then, around 8:20 am on Wednesday, another fire broke out on different floors of the market.
Reports from sources in the Surat Fire Department indicate that more than 200 firefighters, organized into 10 teams, were dispatched to contain the blaze before additional fires broke out yesterday.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Ishwar Patel was quoted as saying, “We are also surprised that the fire broke out again on Wednesday, despite being fully controlled on Tuesday evening. The main power supply to the market had been disconnected. After speaking to some people associated with the market, we learned that someone had restarted the power supply through a generator, which might have caused a spark. Later, the fire may have started and spread to different floors.”
He added, “On Tuesday, the fire was limited to the lower basement area, but the blaze on Wednesday was spread across different areas on different floors. The entire market was engulfed in fire. We had to deploy our team in all directions and cut the locks on the main doors to extinguish the flames.”
Security staff from Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) have been monitoring the area to ensure no one enters the premises.
On Thursday afternoon, Surat city MP Mukesh Dalal, Mayor Daxesh Mavani, and SMC Standing Committee Chairman Rajan Patel, along with other civic body officials, arrived at the site to assess the situation.
In the meantime, more than 10 textile markets surrounding Shiv Shakti Market were shut down to allow unobstructed access for fire trucks, as there is only one road, parallel to the Ring Road, providing access to the various textile markets.
Surat’s Chief Fire Officer Basant Pareek told media outlets, “The entire structure inside the market—the columns, beams, and plaster—has been weakened. It is quite risky to go inside. We have instructed the market authorities not to enter until further notice. The structure has deteriorated to the point that it must be dismantled. In the coming days, the structural engineer of SMC will visit the premises. We are still working to control the fire, but it is coming from different shops on different floors. We don’t know how long it will take to fully control the fire.”
A textile trader from the affected market shared with the media that he had been running his shop there since 1995. While he mentioned that small fire incidents had occurred in the past, none had been as devastating as the recent one. His shop on the second floor was completely destroyed in the blaze on Wednesday, and he revealed that they had stocked up on textiles worth Rs 20 lakh for the business season, all of which was lost in the fire. His accounts, computer, and insurance papers were also burned.
In another instance, the owner of a nearby textile market expressed sympathy, offering to provide shops to the affected traders without requiring a deposit or rent for six months to a year, recognizing the severe losses faced by those at the market.
A representative from the Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association told the media that controlling the fire was the top priority. He noted that many traders in the area operated out of rented shops and had suffered significant financial losses, with the damage estimated at over Rs 400 crore. He mentioned plans to approach both the state and central governments for support, seeking expedited insurance claims and low-interest bank loans to help the traders recover and resume their businesses.
The Ring Road area near Surat Railway Station is home to more than 170 textile markets, housing over 70,000 shops. The daily turnover of the textile trade in this region is estimated to exceed Rs 170 crore. The area is bustling with activity, as millions of people, including shop employees, laborers, tempo drivers, and their helpers, can be seen daily transporting grey bales and collecting finished textile goods. To ease traffic congestion, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) constructed flyovers on the Ring Road a few years ago, ensuring that regular city traffic heading towards Varachha and Surat Railway Station does not interfere with the busy textile market traffic.
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