A major fire broke out at a scrapyard in Mumbai’s Mankhurd area in the eastern suburbs on Friday. No one was injured in the incident, disaster management officials said.
The blaze erupted at 4.15 am at the scrap market on Veer Jijamata Bhosale Marg. Heavy smoke engulfed the area as the Mumbai Fire Brigade struggled to control the blaze.
At least 10 fire engines and water tankers were rushed to the spot. The fire was brought under control after more than four hours at 8.42 am.
A fire brigade official said the blaze was confined to seven to eight shops in the market, where different types of scrap material and electric installation, including empty chemical drums, were stored.
The area has a one-acre scrapyard housing more than 1,000 godowns, most of them unauthorised, which store inflammable material and scrap such as oil and chemicals above the prescribed limit.
Known as Kurla yard, it is leased out by the state government for the scrapyard, metal and paper marts.
In February, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar had blamed the massive unauthorised storage of inflammable material for the repeated outbreaks of fire in the area.
According to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act (Section 394), the owners of a godown have to obtain a trade and storage licence to use a structure as such. Authorities have to check if the godowns are storing combustible material and if it is within the prescribed quantity. If the quantity exceeds the limit, the owners have to be taken to court. However, no action has been taken against the illegal godowns in Mankhurd.
This is not the first time a massive fire broke out in the Mandala scrapyard. Last June, a level three fire was reported in the area. In 2018, a major fire had gutted at least 100 commercial structures and 120 firefighters were deployed to control the blaze.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/major-fire-mumbais-mankhurd-under-control-4-hours-7515080/
