JAMMU: The Traders Federation Warehouse-Nehru Market on Tuesday officially called off its three-day commercial shutdown after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha ordered a high-level administrative probe into alleged operational lapses and response delays by the Fire and Emergency Services Department during the devastating Diwali night blaze.
Announcing the resumption of commercial operations, Federation President Deepak Gupta confirmed that wholesale grain and essential food supply distribution across Jammu and Kashmir from the region’s primary food hub would normalize immediately, with traders pledging extended working hours to clear supply backlogs generated during the 72-hour bandh.
The Lieutenant Governor has constituted a two-member senior inquiry committee consisting of Divisional Commissioner Jammu Vikas Kundal and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu Zone Tejinder Singh to comprehensively investigate firefighting preparedness, vehicular availability, and deployment response times during the conflagration.
“Traders suffered colossal devastation with eight wholesale commercial establishments reduced entirely to ash, two severely damaged, and nearly ten adjacent premises suffering ruined inventories due to inundation during firefighting operations,” Gupta stated. “We expressed our gratitude to the Lieutenant Governor for addressing our demand for an impartial probe to rectify systemic deficiencies in emergency response infrastructure.”
Outlining the Federation’s core charter of demands submitted during delegations with interim Chief Secretary and top administrative functionaries, Gupta reiterated calls for substantial ex-gratia financial compensation, urgent reconstruction of damaged shops through the Jammu Development Authority (JDA), and the long-delayed relocation of wholesale storage yards.
“We have formally appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene compassionately and announce a dedicated economic relief package for affected shopkeepers. Furthermore, suitable suburban land parcels must be identified and allotted to establish a modern warehouse and transport yard outside dense urban centers,” Gupta added.
Addressing contentious interactions witnessed during visits by various political figures to the tragedy site, Gupta expressed regret over emotional outbursts from distressed traders while rebuking outside attempts to politicise the catastrophe.
Meanwhile, a delegation of BJP legislators including Sham Lal Sharma, Vikram Randhawa, Yudhvir Sethi, Narinder Singh, and Arvind Gupta visited the site, expressing willingness to allocate Constituency Development Funds (CDF) to assist devastated merchants subject to requisite government policy exemptions.
Published by True Roots Media