Burnt down food godown smoulders even after a week

BENGALURU: A week after a fire broke out in a food godown near Doddagubbi, it continues to smoulder, much to the discomfiture of residents nearby. Firefighters had put in their best effort to bring the fire under control last Sunday, but it seems it has not been completely extinguished as embers continue to burn, emitting smoke.

Food items worth about Rs 1 crore were destroyed after the huge godown was guttedfire. More than 10 fire tenders had been brought into fight the blaze, but there are small fires at the site every now and then.

The fire could not be completely extinguished due to lack of water. Residents around the godown have started to face a new problem. People who were anticipating the situation to return to normal are not able to stay at home even after a week due to smoke and the situation is only worsening. Elderly people and children claim that they are facing increased respiratory issues.

People have started to complain about health issues due to thick smoke and some people who have health issues are even shifting to other places while some of them sent their wives and children to their hometowns. Local residents are saying that they never anticipated such a situation and are requesting the authorities concerned to extinguish the fire completely as early as possible so that they can continue to stay in their houses without problems.

An elderly resident, Nagaraj, said, “I am 70 years old and I have some health issues. Bad smoke is coming out of the godown and there is no clean drinking water. It is very difficult to live here and we are spending sleepless nights. It has been one week since the fire incident, but it is still burning inside the godown. The authorities concerned should demolish it completely and clear the debris as soon as possible. There are small children here. We are suffering every day due to the smoke”.

Another resident, Parvathi, claimed, “We are facing problems every day. At least godown owners should know the consequences here after the incident, but none of them have come. I sent some of my grandchildren to our hometown. The fire increased due to heavy wind in the evening. We have requested the police as well. We are just fed up with the unresponsiveness of the police department and the godown owner”.