About half-a-dozen bangle shops at the Masala Patti Line at Sakchi were gutted in a fire which is suspected to be caused by short-circuit late on Sunday night. It took three fire tenders of Jharkhand Fire Service and Tata Steel over three hours to bring the blaze under control. The fire started around 11 pm.

According to Sakchi market sources, the fire was first spotted by a security guard who raised an alarm. Later, a local shopkeeper called the Golmuri-based fire station informing about the fire.

However, prompt action by the fire department minimised damages to a great extent given the fact that a large number of shops are packed next to each other in the congested Masala Patti Line, where the inferno took place.

District fire service officials said they were informed about the fire around 11.15 pm, and the fire tenders reached the spot within 10 minutes.

“Two fire tenders of our department along with another one from Tata Steel battled the flames which were finally brought under control around 2 am,” said Ravinder Thakur, the Golmuri-based fire station officer.

The loss caused by the fire could not be immediately estimated.

An affected bangle shop owner Md. Shamim said, “The fire was caused by a suspected short-circuit. Things are being probed.”

Chaos prevailed at the market soon after the fire was detected. Most of the shopkeepers had left for their homes after closing their shops at 9 pm. But, some of them rushed to the spot after being informed.

This was the second such fire that broke out at Sakchi which is a leading commercial hub. On December 19 a similar fire caused by a bonfire gutted around a dozen shops at the Jalebi Line close to the fish market.

Firemen douse the fire at Sakchi market in Jamshedpur on Sunday night. Pic by Bhola Prasad