In protest against the massive fire that broke out at the ‘Warehouse’ in Nehru Market on the night of Diwali, the market will remain closed until Wednesday. Angered by the lack of action against the officials responsible within the Fire and Emergency Services, the Warehouse-Nehru Market Federation—in a meeting held on Monday evening—unanimously decided to keep the market shut for the next 48 hours.
Federation President Deepak Gupta clarified that the traders are not looking for mere assurances; they demand concrete action against the officials responsible for the negligence.
Political parties urged not to politicize the Warehouse fire
Following a meeting with senior members at the Federation office, Deepak Gupta stated that eight shops were engulfed in flames on the night of Diwali—a deeply tragic and unfortunate incident. He appealed to leaders of political parties not to politicize this tragedy or exploit it for their own political gain. He noted that some opposition leaders are attempting to turn this incident into a political issue against the administration.
Demand for action against negligent officials
The Federation firmly believes that had the Fire and Emergency Services acted in a timely manner, much of the damage could have been averted. They argue that strict action must be taken against the specific officials whose negligence exacerbated the losses; however, they emphasized that it would be unfair to hold the entire administration responsible. Deepak Gupta acknowledged that the timely intervention of the administration and the police helped prevent the fire from spreading throughout the entire market. He expressed his gratitude to Divisional Commissioner Vikas Kundal, Deputy Commissioner (Jammu) Minga Sherpa, ADC (Law and Order) Ansuya Jamwal, and senior police officials.
According to him, these officials arrived at the scene during the night, monitored the situation, and pressed the fire brigade to act swiftly. The Federation President added that the decision to keep the market closed was made immediately following the fire incident. Due to the lack of action taken against officials following Monday’s meeting, it was decided to extend the shutdown until Wednesday.
Demand for land for warehouses—a decade-long issue
Deepak Gupta stated that the demand for providing land outside the city to warehouse traders—to enable the construction of storage facilities—has been raised for the past ten years, yet previous governments failed to address it. He noted that the necessity of storing goods in the open, outside of shops, was a major factor in the rapid spread of the fire.
Had the traders possessed adequate warehouse facilities, their valuable goods could have been kept safe, and the losses would have been significantly lower. If the government is truly concerned about the interests of the traders, it should allocate land for warehouses outside the city without further delay.
Those present at the meeting included Senior Vice President Dheeraj Mahajan, Vice President Vishal Gupta, General Secretary Abhimanyu Gupta, Secretary Rahul Gupta, Treasurer Nitish Mahajan, along with Rajesh Bhogtra (President, Sugar Merchants Association), Kirti Gupta (President, Pulses Merchants Association), Ajay Gupta (President, Onion-Potato Merchants Association), Anil Gupta (President, Grocery/Karyana Merchants Association), former Traders Federation President Rajesh Gupta, Romesh Mahajan, Ratan Lal Gupta, and other members.
Affected businesses include:
Radha Krishna & Brothers, R.K. Mahajan, Madan Lal Anari Kumar, Charan Das, Valait Ram, Chaman Lal Gupta & Sons, Ranjeet Lal Baldev Raj & Co., Om Prakash Ram Ratan Lal, Vikas Trading Company, and Deepak Trading Company.
