THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO: Panic gripped the residents and vendors of the Gandhi market as a scrapyard caught fire, triggering a minor explosion on Sunday evening.
The incident occurred at around 7.30 pm and fire-fighting was underway at the scrapyard till late in the night.
Three fire tenders were used by the fire-fighting team to extinguish the fire. However, Fire Officer Gill De Souza said it will some time to extinguish the fire since the yard contains all types of scrap, including plastic and chemicals.
The fire officer said the fire fighting team will deploy a JCB machine to clear the scrap in order to completely extinguish the fire.
The residential colony and the vegetable and fruit market in the vicinity were safe.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, ward Councilor Damu Naik, Chief Officer Siddivinayak Naik rushed to the Gandhi market after hearing the incident.
Local residents led by Sheikh Riyaz drew the attention of the Margao MLA as well as the Chief Officer on how illegal parking of vehicles in the 'No Parking' zones had hampered the smooth arrival of the fire brigade.
He said the local residents had to make way for the fire tender to enter the market after removing over 100 motorcycles illegally parked on the roadsides and demanded action against the unauthorized parking along the 'No Parking' area and the shifting of the scrapyard.
The Margao MLA directed the MMC Chief Officer to inspect the place on Monday morning along with the Margao traffic officials to crack the whip against unauthorized parking.
“This cannot be accepted when the road ought to be free from obstructions in times of emergencies,” Kamat said.
