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Fire-ravaged mango market to resume operations in 2 days

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday announced the release of Rs 500,000 for relief works and ordered officials to restart operations at the fire-ravaged mango market yard at Nunna near the coastal city of Vijayawada.

A fire on Monday night ravaged Asia's biggest mango market, causing an estimated loss of Rs 16 million, according to the forest department officials.

During the season, the market yard handles 250 truckloads of mangoes everyday.

Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of the mangoes in the country, accounting for an estimated production of three million tonnes this year. Much of the produce from the coastal districts is brought to the market yard at Vijayawada.

The chief minister expressed concern over the fire that reduced the mango market yard to ashes. He enquired about the details of the mishap and instructed Krishna district collector and senior officials of the marketing department to reinstall temporary sheds so that the market yard could resume its operations in the next 48 hours.

He instructed the officials to clear the debris from the stockyard and asked the marketing department to release Rs 500,000 immediately to carry out relief and restoration work.

The fire is supposed to have originated at a stall where a worker was cooking his food on an oven. The strong wind blowing in the area fanned the flames. Within minutes, most of the stalls covered with palmyra leaves and hay caught fire. Of the 70 stalls, 58 were gutted, fire service officials said.

Huge quantities of mangoes, waiting to be exported to other states as well as countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, were damaged.

The inferno caused extensive damage to air-coolers, furniture, transformers, trucks and tractors as well as the stalls at the 28-acre market yard.

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