Taj fest burns to ashes
VISHAL SHARMA
AGRA, 22 Feb. Just a few days after it was inaugurated by the UP Development Council Chairman Amar Singh, the Taj Mahotsava being held in Agra to promote tourism through a display of handicrafts suffered a major setback when a fire burned down the entire crafts village on Monday evening, causing loss worth several crores to the craftsmen who had arrived here from all corners of the country. No casualties have been reported so far.
According to the initial reports, the fire was caused by a short-circuit in the wiring over the roof of stall no. 82. Starting at about 6:30 in the evening just before the performance of Kathak Maestro Birju Maharaj, the fire quickly spread from one stall to the other, accelerated by the presence of inflammable handicrafts items and in barely an hour, the complete Shilpgram, spread in about 12 acres area was ablaze. The intensity of the fire was so great that even the trees inside the campus were burned down. Though at least 40 fire engines were deployed to control the fire, but still, the fire continued to smolder for almost three hours after it started.
Talking to Business Standard, Ijaz Mohammed, a Jaipur craftsman who held a stall just opposite stall no. 82, they tried to douse the fire with water as there were no fire extinguishers available, but the water quickly ran out and they watched helplessly as the fire gobbled up their precious belongings worth more than Rs. 5 lac.
Dr. Ashok Kumar, Commissioner, Agra Division said that fortunately there have not been any injuries and paramedics are still searching for any injured craftsman and the affected artisans shall be compensated for their loss. He said that the army had also arrived in the Shilpgram to help out the policemen who were struggling to control the fire.
Notably, the crafts fair, comprising of about 300 shops held by artisans arriving from all corners of the country, had been inaugurated on 18th February and the loss to the craftsmen caused by the fire is being estimated to reach several crores of rupees.
(UNITED NEWS NETWORK)
AGRA, 22 Feb. Just a few days after it was inaugurated by the UP Development Council Chairman Amar Singh, the Taj Mahotsava being held in Agra to promote tourism through a display of handicrafts suffered a major setback when a fire burned down the entire crafts village on Monday evening, causing loss worth several crores to the craftsmen who had arrived here from all corners of the country. No casualties have been reported so far.
According to the initial reports, the fire was caused by a short-circuit in the wiring over the roof of stall no. 82. Starting at about 6:30 in the evening just before the performance of Kathak Maestro Birju Maharaj, the fire quickly spread from one stall to the other, accelerated by the presence of inflammable handicrafts items and in barely an hour, the complete Shilpgram, spread in about 12 acres area was ablaze. The intensity of the fire was so great that even the trees inside the campus were burned down. Though at least 40 fire engines were deployed to control the fire, but still, the fire continued to smolder for almost three hours after it started.
Talking to Business Standard, Ijaz Mohammed, a Jaipur craftsman who held a stall just opposite stall no. 82, they tried to douse the fire with water as there were no fire extinguishers available, but the water quickly ran out and they watched helplessly as the fire gobbled up their precious belongings worth more than Rs. 5 lac.
Dr. Ashok Kumar, Commissioner, Agra Division said that fortunately there have not been any injuries and paramedics are still searching for any injured craftsman and the affected artisans shall be compensated for their loss. He said that the army had also arrived in the Shilpgram to help out the policemen who were struggling to control the fire.
Notably, the crafts fair, comprising of about 300 shops held by artisans arriving from all corners of the country, had been inaugurated on 18th February and the loss to the craftsmen caused by the fire is being estimated to reach several crores of rupees.
(UNITED NEWS NETWORK)
Comments