Mehbooba Mufti Visits Fire-Ravaged Nehra Market, Seeks Financial Aid for Jammu Traders

By : Alia Kashmiri

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday visited the fire-ravaged Nehra Market in Jammu and urged the government to provide adequate financial assistance to traders who suffered massive losses in the devastating blaze. Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

Several shops were gutted in a major fire that broke out late Sunday night at the historic Nehra Market near Bikram Chowk in Jammu. The market is among the city’s oldest commercial centres and is known for its wholesale trade in foodgrains, edible oil, groceries and other essential commodities.

During her visit, Mufti expressed solidarity with the affected shopkeepers and said the traders would struggle to restart their businesses without financial support from the government.

“Our goods and everything else have been damaged. Unless we receive financial assistance, we will not be able to recover from these losses. We need financial support to restart our businesses, as the losses are enormous,” she said.

Describing the incident as a horrifying experience, Mufti said Diwali had turned into a dark and frightening night for the affected traders.

She stressed that adequate safety arrangements should have been in place in markets during the festive season, particularly considering the possibility of fire incidents.

The PDP chief also questioned the firefighting arrangements, stating that the fire tenders initially deployed were too small to tackle a blaze of such magnitude. She said larger fire engines should have been pressed into service to prevent the flames from spreading further.

Highlighting the financial difficulties faced by small traders, Mufti said most affected shopkeepers were ordinary businessmen who had invested their savings, borrowed money and even sold family jewellery to establish their businesses.

“These are ordinary people, not big businessmen. Most of them have taken loans, incurred debts and even sold family jewellery to set up their businesses. They earn during the day and use that income to feed their families at night,” she said.

She appealed to the government to extend sufficient financial assistance to help the affected families overcome their losses and restore their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, traders said the market dealt in a wide range of essential commodities, including rice, flour, pulses, edible oil, ghee, dry fruits and other household products.

According to the affected shopkeepers, the losses are estimated to run into crores of rupees, as the fire spread rapidly and became difficult to control.

Regarding insurance coverage, traders said some shopkeepers might have insured their businesses, while several others had no insurance, as they had never anticipated such extensive damage.

The affected traders also alleged that the initial firefighting response was inadequate. One shopkeeper claimed that a small fire tender reached the spot around five minutes after the blaze broke out but was insufficient to control the flames.

He further alleged that water pressure was initially low and larger fire tenders arrived only after the situation had worsened.

The traders said special precautions should have been taken during Diwali, given the possibility of fire-related incidents, and called on the administration to strengthen emergency response arrangements in major commercial areas.

Notably, this is the second major fire incident in Jammu in just over a fortnight, resulting in extensive damage to two major marketplaces in the winter capital.

Earlier, a massive fire broke out at Shiv Market on the night of October 25 and continued until the morning of October 26. The blaze engulfed at least 40 shops and destroyed property worth crores of rupees.