Guntur fire: TDP pulls Congress Government

Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), May 7 : The opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Wednesday charged the congress government in Andhra Pradesh of not producing the exact statistics of the damage caused by a fire in Asia's largest Chilli market in Guntur.

"Farmers are not happy about the measures taken by the government as it is not providing exact damage statistics. Some say the loss is of 150 million rupees, while marketing minister assesses it to be 300 million rupees, district officials put it at 500 million rupees and the yard officials estimate the loss worth one billion rupees," said TDP leader Alapati Rajendra Prasad.

Chilli yard officials, however, brushed aside the allegations, saying the opposition was raising the issue to gain political mileage.

"Investigations are in progress, farmers are receiving help. Allegations of the TDP are totally baseless, they are making it an issue for their political gains," said Lappi Reddy, the market yard chairman.

Due to high velocity winds, the fire had also spread to cold storages in the yard and nearby houses, engulfing the entire market yard complex.

Police suspect that an electrical short circuit may have caused the fire. They said no human casualties were reported in the incident.

ANI