New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Traders in Chandni Chowk have lauded the announcement of the deployment of fire tenders and ambulances in the area, calling the move "long overdue" that will prevent future loss of lives and property at the heritage site.

They pointed out that the area known for its Mughal-era buildings and old markets is prone to fire incidents.

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Its narrow and congested lanes make it difficult for emergency services to reach the spots, which further prevents timely action, they said.

In September alone, a major fire broke out in a building near the Chandni Chowk metro station that was doused off with the help of more than 150 fire personnel and a total of 40 fire tenders.

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Sanjay Bhargava, president of the traders' welfare association, Chandni Chowk, said due to narrow lanes, ambulances are unable to enter the markets which delay the timely treatment of those injured in the incident.

"This is a good move which was long overdue. You have seen Chandni Chowk, it is a very congested area. The market is a ticking bomb, every other day there is an incident about illegal constructions that have taken place here," Bhargava said.

"Yesterday Lt Vinay Saxena visited the market and we told him about the problem. We informed him about overhanging electric wires that often lead to fire incidents in the area. If ambulances and fire tenders will offer a big time help to people," Bhargava said," he added.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Wednesday visited Chandni Chowk in old Delhi and interacted with members of various traders' associations, RWAs and a section of visitors in a bid to upgrade amenities in the heritage precinct, officials said on Thursday.

The move is aimed at facilitating the smooth conduct of trade.

Another trader praised the announcement and said the people of the heritage area have suffered crores of rupees of losses due to frequent fire incidents.

"In September, a fire broke out in a commercial building in Delhi's Chandni Chowk and dozens of shops behind the building might also be affected, rendering huge financial losses running into crores of rupees," Shivkumar said, adding that if fire tenders could have reached early, then the fire would have been doused earlier.

"This is a good move and will prevent such fire incidents from escalating," he added.

During his visit, people also informed Saxena about more than 60 katras that attract lakhs of people every day, explaining that nearly 60,000 people also reside in the narrow bylanes of Chandni Chowk and massive congestion often leads to fire and medical emergencies, an official statement said.

Katras in Chandni Chowk will also get a facelift, it said.

A stretch of Chandni Chowk was revamped in 2021 as part of the Delhi government's redevelopment project.

An exercise to identify fire-prone locations for deployment of fire tenders as also for deployment of ambulances is also being undertaken here by the fire department, the LG said.

The "initiative will be started from Chandni Chowk before Diwali", he added.

Earlier this month, the Delhi Fire Service formed an internal committee headed by the Chief Fire Officer to identify 50 mishap-prone spots in the national capital where mobile fire tenders can be deployed, an official said on Sunday.

Places like Chandi Chowk and Sadar Bazar may have fire stations nearby but due to the congested and narrow lanes, the tenders take time to reach there, a mobile fire tender and PCR van will reach such places in the shortest time possible.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)