A fire broke out in a Civil Supplies warehouse on the outskirts of Gangapur under Jadcherla mandal on Sunday. Not less than 900 quintals of rice and over 70,000 gunny bags were reduced to ashes.
According to officials, while 800 quintals of rice, which were stocked at the warehouse, were seized by the officials, 100 quintals of rice were meant for distribution to various fair price shops. Property worth Rs 40 lakh was gutted in the fire accident.
Two fire engines were deployed and firefighters worked tirelessly to put out flames. The firefighters were allowed to pull down the walls of the warehouse to put out flames. District Civil Supplies District Manager M Praveen, after consulting with the higher officials, allowed the firefighter to pull down the walls of the warehouse. The firefighter had worked tirelessly for four hours to extinguish the fire.
There were high stocks of rice in another warehouse adjacent to the ill-fated warehouse. The rice in the second warehouse was meant for the public distribution system in various constituencies. If the fire broke out in the second warehouse, the loss would have been very high, the officials said.
Meanwhile, suspicions arose about how the fire broke out in the warehouse. There was no power connection to the warehouse and it meant that the possibility of a short circuit was ruled out. There is a demand for an investigation into the incident.
The fire sent thick black smoke into the air and it triggered panic among the people in the vicinity of the warehouse.
