Daijiworld Media Network - Margao
Margao, Aug 23: The twin municipal markets of Margao — the New Municipal Market and Gandhi Market — remain dangerously vulnerable to a major fire, with more than 1,000 traders operating in tightly packed premises filled with highly combustible goods.
The markets house shops selling a wide range of products, including cosmetics and chemicals, foam and tarpaulin, savouries and sweets, garments and jute ropes. However, despite the fire risks posed by the nature and density of the businesses, the markets remain poorly equipped to deal with a major blaze, according to the fire department's assessment.
A fire safety audit of the New Municipal Market conducted in February this year highlighted several concerns, including unauthorised increases in electrical loads at a number of shops, the absence of a dedicated firefighting water supply and inadequate fire safety infrastructure. The audit also reiterated concerns over blocked access routes within the market.
“The safety of shopkeepers and customers is our top priority, but the delay in constructing an overhead water tank for a dedicated firefighting water pipeline has left us vulnerable,” said Gopal Naik, president of the New Market Traders Association.
The access problem has been aggravated over the years as traders have extended their shops into passages. As a result, areas originally intended to serve as escape routes have been reduced to narrow corridors, creating serious challenges for both evacuation and firefighting operations.
“There is absolutely no access for fire tenders in case of an emergency, as was evident during the recent fires,” a senior fire department official said.
The official said shopkeepers had encroached upon passages and stressed the need to maintain passage widths of at least 1.5 to 2 metres to allow people to evacuate safely and prevent stampedes during an emergency.
The markets also lack adequate first-line firefighting equipment. Few shops have even basic fire extinguishers, while the existing hydrants are connected to the public water supply network.
According to fire officials, the public water network provides barely 2 bar of pressure, against the minimum 3.5 bar required for effective firefighting. As a result, the existing hydrants would provide limited protection during a serious fire.
Authorities had earlier proposed a dedicated firefighting water system to address the problem. The plan involved installing a 25,000-litre overhead water tank at the site of the old fish market. The tank would hold more than five fire tenders' worth of water and supply hydrants located around the markets through a dedicated pipeline.
Such a system would allow firefighters to begin firefighting operations quickly by connecting hoses to the nearest hydrant without depending entirely on the existing public water supply.
However, the proposal was put on hold after the Margao Municipal Council decided to reserve the old fish market site for a multi-level parking project.
For more than 1,000 traders and the thousands of shoppers who use the markets every day, the major vulnerabilities therefore remain unresolved — no dedicated firefighting water supply, restricted access for emergency vehicles, inadequate evacuation routes and insufficient firefighting equipment.
Fire officials have repeatedly warned that the combination of electrical risks, combustible materials, congested passages and inadequate firefighting infrastructure could allow even a minor electrical fault or small fire to rapidly develop into a major disaster.