Chilli yard reduced to ashes

Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, May 3 (UNI) In a major fire, nearly one third of chilli market yard here, one of the biggest in Asia, was gutted today, causing loss of crores of Rupees.

Police said about 500 chilli commission shops were reduced to ashes in the blaze. About 1.5 lakh chilli bags were in the yard, spread over 60,000 acres.

No casualty was reported so far, but some people were likely to be trapped in the godowns of the yard.

Due to high velocity wind, the fire spread to cold storages in the yard and nearby houses. People in the area became panicky and ran helter skelter. Authorities were shifting the people to nearby places for safety.

Ten fire engines were still battling hard to control the inferno.

Fire tenders from Prakasam and Krishna districts were also being requistioned.

Police suspect that electrical short circuit must have caused the break out of fire.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who was in New Delhi, was reviewing the situation.

UNI CS GD LPB BD1311