Numaish fire: Telangana government assures help to traders

Hyderabad: As a massive fire at the All India Industrial Exhibition (Numaish) in Hyderabad left hundreds of small traders and exhibitors devastated, calls have been made from various quarters to extend financial assistance to help them in overcoming the huge losses.

Even as the distraught businessmen were staging protest and making tearful pleas to the authorities for financial assistance, the Exhibition Socieity has assured that it will extend immediate cash assistance of Rs10,000 to each affected stall owner and also give Rs25,000 cheque. Exhibition Society president and former finance minister E Rajinder said that the rent taken from the fire-hit stall owners will be returned and no deposit will be taken from them next year.

Normally the annual exhibition comes to an end by the mid February but on the representation of the traders the Society has decided to extend it to February 28.

Presently the exhibition was closed as debris of the burnt stall was being cleared and new stalls were being constructed. State home minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali said that with the clearance from the police and the fire services department Exhibition Society has started reconstruction of the stalls. He hoped that the exhibition will be reopened with in four days.

About 130 owners of 300 destroyed stalls also included a large number of dry fruits and shawl traders from Kashmir. According to the Kashmiri businessmen the devastated stalls include 16 leather goods shops, 40 dry fruit shops and 35 shops of shawl.

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah expressing grave concern over the fire accident has appealed to Telangana government to come to the help of the affected Kashmiri traders.

Addressing the TRS working president K Taraka Rama Rao, Omar Abdullah tweeted, “may I request you on behalf of these people who loss all their material in the fire in Hyderabad for any assistance at all that can be provided to them. Will be personally grateful Jenab”.