Jaisalmer: A fire broke out at a four-storey Bhagwati Handloom store in Dhorimanna town of Balotra district in the early hours of Monday, destroying merchandise worth crores of rupees stocked for the Diwali season.All 28 employees inside the building, including the store manager, escaped through the rear exit. No casualties were reported.The fire, which erupted around 4 am, took nearly six hours to come under control, with fire tenders mobilised from Barmer, Balotra, Sanchore and the RGT area. Firefighters and residents worked to contain the flames and prevent them from spreading.According to the store owner, large quantities of electrical goods, food items and other merchandise had been stocked over the past few days ahead of the festive shopping season. Both the building and its contents suffered extensive damage.Dhorimanna SDM Badrinarayan Vishnoi coordinated with the administrations of Barmer, Balotra and Sanchore to arrange additional fire tenders and oversee the evacuation.Following the incident, Vishnoi directed Dhorimanna tehsildar Chandraprakash Sharma to inspect fire safety equipment and arrangements at handloom stores and other commercial establishments within the municipal limits to prevent similar incidents.
