A Massive fire broke out in Itanagar

It was 4 am when the shopkeepers, alarmed by the fire in one of the shops nearby, rushed to the Naharlagun fire station and knocked.

Standing clueless and shocked, a woman who owned one of the oldest cloth stores with a tailor shop, expressed anger at the fire service department. “I do not know what to say. Not only my shop, now I don’t have a roof over my head too,” she said, adding that “we have been without food since last night due to puja rituals for Diwali.”

A woman beside her also shared her agony, saying that “we have been here for the past 30 years and above. We always ensure that no single light is kept on inside the shops to avert electric short-circuit. There is no way that diyas could have caused the fire.”

A once colourful and bustling market, with green leafy vegetables, meats and ornaments displayed for sale, the Naharlagun daily market – understood to be one of the busiest markets in the capital – looked pitiable on Tuesday, as if it was suffering from the after-effects of a battle. The once crowded market, where one could see young women bargaining for fashionable dresses that were brought from Dimapur’s (Nagaland) famous Hong Kong market and other major towns of the region, will certainly be missed by regular buyers.