Kanpur: A major fire broke out at the HS International Tannery in Wajidpur, under the Jajmau police station area in Kanpur on Tuesday night due to a short circuit, officials said. Eight fire tenders brought the blaze under control after nearly 4 hours of efforts. Goods worth crores of rupees were gutted, but no casualties were reported.The tannery belonged to Naushad Ahmad, a resident of Emerald Gulistan, JK. On Tuesday night, employees were working on the ground floor of the three-storey tannery when a fire suddenly broke out due to a short circuit. The employees ran outside raising an alarm.The tannery operator reached the spot after receiving information and alerted the fire department. The fire department personnel and the police reached the spot and brought the fire under control after nearly 4 hours of effort.Naushad said that he had set up a shoe finishing unit a few days ago, worth more than Rs 2 crore, which was completely reduced to ashes in the fire.Fire officer Rahul Nandan stated that the fire was brought under control by summoning nearly 8 fire tenders from fire stations at Jajmau, Meerpur, Kidwai Nagar, Fazalganj and Panki. Fire personnel faced difficulty in bringing the fire tenders due to narrow roads and the congested location.A shoe cutting unit worth Rs 95 lakh installed on the ground floor, leather and other materials worth over Rs 10 lakh were also engulfed in the fire. A soling, finishing and packing setup worth approximately Rs 30 lakh on the first floor was also gutted, while the lab and spray department located on the upper floor were also completely burned down.Extra vigilance was exercised due to it being an industrial area. The fire was brought under control after water was fetched 23 times from a nearby tannery and Bima Hospital.The fire department directed an inspection of the factory’s safety standards. The officials stated that if any kind of negligence was found, strict action would be taken against those responsible.
