Seven days on, fire yet to be doused at Dodda Gubbi warehouse in Kothanur

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: Despite the strenuous effort of the fire officials in dousing the fire that had erupted last week at a warehouse in Dodda Gubbi of Kothanur, smoke is still seen emanating from the smouldering debris here.

The warehouse belonging to a supermarket in Kothanur caught fire around 4 am on March 18.

While no casualties were reported in the incident, valuables estimated to be worth Rs 1 crores were damaged.

A 70-year-old resident, Nagaraj, said, "Toxic smoke is coming out of the godown continuously after the fire broke out. It is becoming difficult to live here and we are spending sleepless nights. We have to keep our windows shut despite hot weather," he said and added that it has been one week since the fire incident, but it is still burning inside the godown.

"The authorities concerned should douse it completely and if possible demolish the building and clear the debris immediately," Nagaraj said.

Around eight fire tenders were pressed into service following the alert and after a few hours of continuous operation, the firemen brought the raging fire under control.

However the worried residents are still complaining of smoke billowing out of the embers inside.

The residents claimed that the fire tenders had run out of water while dousing the fire after which a few officers had to fetch water from Manyata Tech Park, nearby apartments and swimming pools to continue the operation.

Parvathi, another resident, pointed out that at least the owners of the place should have known the consequences here after the incident.

"I have sent my grandchildren to our hometown. The fire increased due to heavy wind in the evening. We are just fed up with the unresponsiveness of the police and the godown owner”.

According to the residents, the warehouse, which was set up 15 years ago, used to supply rations to private companies and belonged to Gayatri Associates. Around 200 people were employed at the warehouse, they claimed. The residents allege that the fire officials could not complete the operations due to the lack of water.

"Many of the residents, especially elders and children here are facing increased respiratory issues. What if the fire breaks out of it again?" asked a resident.