Three shops in the commercial hub of Sakchi were gutted in a fire apparently caused by a short-circuit in the small hours of Saturday, and though the blaze was brought under control by fire tenders from Tata Steel and the state fire department in around two hours by 2am, a big worry was exposed.

Both the water hydrants in Sakchi market, which has a warren of over 1,000 shops along zigzag lanes, have been defunct for a long time. If fire tenders need more water to douse a fire, they have to make a 3km trip to the Bistupur water tower to refill their vehicles and come back.

This is what happened in the wee hours of Saturday. The fire at a scrap-paper shop at Tin Shed, on the northern part of the main Sakchi market, was noticed after midnight by some workers of an eatery nearby. In a matter of minutes, the flames raced to two garments shops adjoining the scrap-paper shop. One of the bystanders informed the police, leading to a fire tender from the government-owned Golmuri station reaching the spot within 15 minutes. Around the same time, a fire tender from Tata Steel also reached the spot.

One of the gutted shops

But once the water of the two had exhausted, the two fire tenders had to go to Bistupur to get the vehicles refilled. The Golmuri fire station had to pressed two more fire tenders which brought the raging flames under control.

The losses were still being estimated.

In case of a massive fire in peak hours, these extra trips for something as basic as water could prove costly, said Raja Ram, a shopkeeper in Sakchi market.

Shopkeepers have demanded the administration set right the hydrants immediately.

“The market area is unplanned and densely populated. If a fire occurs in, say, the evening, the entry of fire tenders could be a problem in certain overcrowded lanes inside the market. And if water runs out and fire tenders have to go all the way to Bistupur for it, then the scope of damage increases manifold,” he said. “I urge the administration to repair the hydrants at Sakchi market on a priority basis.”

Ravindra Thakur, in-charge of Jharkhand fire station at Golmuri confirmed going to the Bistupur water tower, around 3km from Sakchi market, to replenish water.

“Hydrants at the Sakchi marketplace are just for show as they do not work. Why waste time when there is a fire? If Bistupur happens to be the nearest point, then that’s where we go,” Thakur told The Telegraph. The fire station in-charge added they had a bitter experience recently when they had to go 5km for gwater from Telco for dousing a blaze that broke out in Baridih market.