Fire ravages chilli godown in Guntur Guntur, Sept 27 (INN): Lakhs of rupees worth chillies were reduced to ashes at an ITC Godown in Nallapadadu in Guntur district on Monday. According to sources, about 40 tons of chillies stored in the godown caught fire. Preliminary estimates put the loss at around Rs 20 lakhs to the chilli farmers. A short-circuit is believed to have sparked off the blaze. However, the officials yet to estimate the loss caused due to blaze.
Fire tenders from Guntur were pressed into service to put off the fire. However, no casualty was reported in the incident. The fire fighting operations were hampered by pungent odour of burning chillies and billowing smoke in the adjacent areas. The chillies had been dried and were stored in the godown before being dispatched to the mills for powdering.
A major fire had ravaged the Guntur fire market on May 3, 2008, reducing chillies worth over hundreds of crores. Guntur is famous for its chilli 56-acre market yard, considered the largest in Asia. Farmers from the surrounding districts apart from the neighbouring states bring their produce to be sold at the market. The state accounts for about half of the countrys chilli production and Guntur has some of the best varieties of chillies in the world.
News Posted: 27 September, 2010
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