Three scrapyards were gutted in a massive fire at Bethora-Ponda on early Saturday morning. However, no person was injured in the accident.
Rajendra Haldankar, deputy director of fire services department, who visited the site, said that the fire had engulfed the entire scrapyard area because of the plastic waste piled inside the premises.
“Firemen from Ponda, Kundaim, Margao and Curchorem, with five fire tenders, used around one lakh litre of water to douse the fire. The five fire tenders made 22 trips to control the fire,” Haldankar told
.
He said they have asked the scrapyard operators to submit the documents regarding the permissions to operate it.
The operators had no fire fighting tools in place, despite it being mandatory. The fire broke out at around 3am, but the operators informed the Ponda fire station about an hour later.
The road to the scrapyards is congested, however, the staff reached the spot immediately and brought the fire under control, Haldankar said.
Nadeer Siddiqui, an operator, suspected sabotage behind the fire accident. He said there were CCTV system inside the scrapyards and it would reveal the culprits’ identities.
