Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
As the city prepared for early morning prayers during the sacred month of Ramadan, disaster struck Azad Chowk at around 4.30am . A massive fire broke out in furniture shops, reducing livelihoods to ashes. Shopkeepers, who had invested between Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh in their businesses, now face an uncertain future. Despite relentless efforts by citizens, the fire brigade, and the police, the flames consumed everything in their path.
Among the worst affected was Raj Furniture, owned by Wasim Khan, who lost stock worth Rs 8 lakh. Other shopkeepers, including Kaleem Shaikh (Rs 50,000), Ayub Khan (Rs 80,000), Syed Altaf (Rs 60,000), and Afzal Pathan (Rs 90,000), reported devastating losses. Sardar Bhai's A.K. Furniture and Salman Khan's shop also suffered damages amounting to Rs 80,000 each. The losses across the 18 affected shops ranged from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, leaving many traders with no means of recovery. Adding to their distress, none of the affected shopkeepers had insurance, making government aid their only hope. Local residents and traders have urged authorities to step in and provide financial assistance to help them rebuild their businesses.
Call for government support
"All the shopkeepers affected by this fire are dependent on their daily earnings. If they are unable to work, running their households will be extremely difficult. Therefore, various government agencies should step in to help the affected shopkeepers."-Shop Owner Wajid Jahagirdar