Rewa admin did not provide assistance for two hours, city council president faced protests from traders

Ashok Gupta’s family rescued via back door, demands Rs 50 lakh compensation and permanent fire brigade

Prayagraj: A massive fire broke out in the ‘Golu Furniture’ showroom in the local market area on Tuesday afternoon, destroying everything. A spark that arose from the shop’s warehouse at around 1 pm, took a horrific form in no time due to the presence of wooden furniture, mattresses and other inflammable materials. In this fire, both the shop and the house of the shop owner Ashok Gupta alias Golu were completely burnt to ashes, destroying finished furniture and household items worth lakhs of rupees. Three hours after the incident, the fire was brought under control with the hard work of the fire brigade team that arrived from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, and the local people.
Family rescued through the back door According to information, the shop was closed at the time of the incident, but Ashok Gupta’s family was present in the residential part of the building. Seeing the flames spreading rapidly, panic gripped the entire market. Fortunately, all family members were safely evacuated through the back door in time, preventing any casualties. However, the family was devastated to see their home and livelihood burn before their eyes. At the same time, the severity of the fire threatened dozens of nearby shops, after which panicked traders hurriedly closed their shops and started taking out their goods. Initial investigations suggest a short circuit as the cause of the fire, although the actual cause has not yet been confirmed.
Anger erupted over the administration’s negligence, and the police cut off electricity. Upon receiving the information, the Chakghat police immediately arrived at the scene, cleared the crowd, and established a security cordon. To prevent a major electric shock, the police contacted the electricity department and had the power supply to the entire market cut off. However, traders were deeply angered by the Rewa district administration’s poor firefighting arrangements. Traders allege that despite immediate information, neither a fire engine nor any responsible officer arrived for more than two hours. Locals attempted to extinguish the fire by pouring water and sand from buckets. The Municipal Council President, who arrived at the scene, also faced opposition from the angry traders. Later, a fire brigade team was called from Prayagraj, only then was the fire completely extinguished.
Demand for permanent fire brigade and compensation of Rs 50 lakh: Angry with this fire incident, the traders have raised serious questions on the functioning of the district administration. The traders have demanded from the Rewa District Collector to immediately deploy a permanent fire brigade in Chakghat and to investigate the delay in the arrival of the fire brigade. Also, the traders said that due to the destruction of Ashok Gupta’s house and shop, a serious crisis of livelihood has arisen in front of them. They have demanded from the government to immediately give compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the affected family for rehabilitation. Currently, the loss is being assessed by the administration.