(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) A massive fire broke out in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district in the early hours of Wednesday, destroying hundreds of shops at the Bakarganj Market under the Babupurwa police station area. The blaze caused significant property damage, with thick smoke engulfing the locality and triggering panic among residents.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire started around 4 a.m., and local residents immediately alerted the fire brigade after seeing flames rising from the market. Several fire tenders were pressed into service and continued battling the blaze for hours. Despite their efforts, high flames and dense smoke made firefighting operations difficult, and hundreds of temporary shops were reduced to ashes.

Videos from the scene showed thick smoke billowing from burning goods inside the market. Firefighters were seen struggling to contain the flames as residents looked on helplessly. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

This incident comes just a day after a fire broke out at the Anandeshwar Cold Storage in Bara, Kanpur Dehat, where large quantities of potatoes stored by farmers were completely destroyed. Fire officials said that the lack of a rear exit at the cold storage had hindered firefighting efforts.

Shopkeepers at Bakarganj Market expressed deep anguish to IANS over the loss of their livelihoods. Many estimated their collective losses to be around Rs 50-60 lakh.

Shahzade, a shopkeeper, said,“A fire broke out here, but we don't know how it happened. My cloth shop has been completely destroyed.”

Another shopkeeper, Usha Rathore, said,“We were sleeping when we were informed that a huge fire had broken out. There was no fire brigade at first; we called them ourselves. Everything has been destroyed. My shop had goods worth Rs 13-14 lakh. I suspect foul play -- it's hard to believe that all the shops could burn so easily. I want justice.”

Ajay, another trader, added,“When I reached here, all the shops were already burnt down. We had goods worth Rs 50-60 lakh in our two shops. Everything is gone.”

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