Jammu – November 10: Expressing profound solidarity with the trading community, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Sunil Sharma, visited the fire-ravaged Warehouse Complex near Nehru Market in Jammu on Monday, where a massive blaze on Sunday evening gutted more than 15 commercial establishments, causing property losses worth crores of rupees.
Following consultations with BJP J&K President Sat Sharma, the Leader of the Opposition announced the formation of a high-powered six-member fact-finding committee to conduct an exhaustive damage assessment of losses incurred by affected traders at both Nehru Market and the recently burnt Shiv Market near Jammu Railway Station. The committee is headed by MLA Sham Lal Sharma (Jammu North) and comprises senior legislators and party leaders including Dr. Narinder Singh, Yudhvir Sethi (MLA), Vikram Randhawa (MLA), Arvind Gupta (MLA), and BJP General Secretary Baldev Singh Billawaria.
Interacting with distraught shopkeepers whose inventory was reduced to ashes within minutes, Sharma asserted that the committee will actively present a consolidated relief charter to the Omar Abdullah administration. He affirmed that the panel will specifically pursue policy approval to permit MLAs to deploy their Constituency Development Funds (CDF) to provide direct financial rehabilitation to the distressed traders.
“Within barely two weeks, Jammu has witnessed two catastrophic market conflagrations—first at Shiv Market and now at Nehru Market. These are not merely commercial shops; they represent the lifeline and generational livelihoods of hundreds of families. Traders cannot be placated with mere words of hollow sympathy; they require immediate on-ground financial restitution and a structural blueprint to prevent recurring tragedies,” Sharma declared.
Demanding special compensation over and above conventional administrative relief ceilings, the LoP called for modernizing emergency response infrastructure in high-density trade zones. He urged the immediate deployment of compact fire tenders and rapid intervention vehicles capable of maneuvering through congested commercial alleyways.
Emphasizing proactive urban planning, Sharma urged the government to demarcate and allot a dedicated, isolated logistics hub away from densely populated markets for warehousing combustible and hazardous goods. He criticized administrative delays, noting that despite prior assurances following the Shiv Market fire, no substantive compensation timeline has been made public. Sharma was accompanied during the site inspection by Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma, former J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina, MLAs Arvind Gupta, Yudhvir Sethi, Vikram Randhawa, and General Secretary Baldev Singh Billawaria.
Published by True Roots Media