A fire, triggered by a short circuit, broke out on Monday night at ‘Dixit Agriculture Workshop,’ located near the turn to Radha Nagar Colony on GT Road in Sikandra Rao. Goods worth lakhs of rupees were reduced to ashes. The belongings of a family renting the space above the shop were also destroyed. Several local residents who stepped in to help extinguish the fire sustained burns and were taken for first aid.
The shop, ‘Dixit Agriculture Workshop,’ is owned by Narendra Kumar Dixit, who resides with his family in a house situated behind the premises. On Monday night, he closed the shop as usual and headed home. Later that night, a short circuit sparked a fire inside. Passersby noticed smoke billowing from the shop’s shutter and alerted the owner. Upon opening the shutter, the owner was devastated to find goods worth lakhs of rupees engulfed in flames. A family renting the upper floor of the building was away for the Diwali holidays; all of their belongings were also destroyed. Local residents managed to bring the fire under control by dousing it with water, but by then, the agricultural supplies—including stocks of grease—had already been consumed by the fire.
Timely arrival of the fire brigade could have mitigated the loss.
Throughout the night, local residents and the shop owner made multiple calls to the fire department, but no one answered. This has sparked outrage among the public, who argue that the extent of the damage could have been reduced had the fire brigade arrived on time. The failure to answer calls also raises serious questions regarding the operational conduct of the fire department officials.
