Fire in HP factory causes Rs four crore loss

Shimla, Nov 25 (UNI) A devastating fire in a spinning mill in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh gutted property estimated to be over Rs four crore, but no loss of life was reported in the incident, police sources today said.

The fire, which started from inside the Sarswati Spinning Mill at Moginand yesterday about 10 kms from Nahan in the Kala Amb industrial area of the district, reduced raw cotton into ashes in a few hours.

The sources said fire personnel battled with the fierce fire for over three hours before bringing it under control.

A short circuit inside the industry's raw cotton section was believed to be the cause of the fire, which started at about 1800 hrs, the sources said.

The sources said property and raw material estimated to be over Rs four crore was destroyed in the incident, adding the losses were likely to go up.

A case has been registered and investigations are on, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the Kala Amb Chamber of Commerce has decided to purchase a fire tender of its own following the state government's reluctance to open a fire station at Kala Amb.

Industrialists in the industrial area have been urging the state government to open fire station in the area itself to minimise losses in case of fire.

In yet another fire incident in the state, a middle school building in Kullu district was gutted after a fire broke out on Thursday night, the sources said.

The sources said the fire damaged the entire building in the incident, causing a loss of Rs four lakh.

Kullu Deputy Commissioner Chamel Singh has announced a sum of Rs two lakh to the school authorities for the reconstruction of a new building, the sources said.

A case has been registered and investigations are on, they added.

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