Fire destroyed over 250 shops in Wazirabad’s Landa Bazaar and dozens of adjacent shelters belonging to people from tribal areas in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The shops were located under an overhead bridge. They were engulfed by a fire, which broke out at a shop in Landa Bazaar. The fire also engulfed nearby shelters.
Later, fire brigades were called from Gujrat and Gujranwala, which put out the fire after three hours. The fire also damaged transmission lines of 11KV and electricity poles, suspending electricity supply to certain areas. However, the power supply was later restored. The cause of fire could not be known.
Due to the fire, traffic remained suspended on GT Road for three hours. A special train carrying Sikh pilgrims had to stop at Wazirabad Railway Station for two hours. The loss to shopkeepers has been estimated worth Rs80 million.
District administration official Muhammad Iqbal Warraich said the market was set up illegally and he had asked the Punjab government a few months ago to remove it. It is learnt that 80 per cent shopkeepers of the market belonged to Bajaur Agency.