Sitamau (Madhya Pradesh): Sitamau witnessed massive protests on Monday after a major fire at shops near the bus stand caused losses worth lakhs of rupees and exposed the absence of a local fire brigade facility.
According to reports, the fire broke out at 9 pm on Sunday at Udiya Kirana store, which contained large stocks of grocery items, oil, ghee and sugar.
The flames quickly spread to the upper floor and nearby shops, including Manbhavan Garments. Traders, police personnel and residents attempted to control the fire using private water tankers.
Fire brigades from Suwasara, Nagri and Mandsaur reached the spot nearly one-and-a-half hours later and the blaze was brought under control around 2 am. Seven shops reportedly suffered damage.
Angry traders observed a voluntary shutdown on Monday and staged protests against the municipal council over the lack of fire safety arrangements. Protesters marched to the municipal office, raised slogans against local authorities and later blocked traffic at Laduna Square for nearly two hours.
SDM Shivani Garg said assessment of losses was underway and temporary fire brigade arrangements would be made immediately.
