With 3 cold storage facilities in Guntur
falling victims to raging flames within a month, the irate farmers of Guntur took to the streets today, crying foul.
The farmers charge that the owners of the facilities used propellents like petrol to instigate the fires so that they can claim their insurance money. The also pointed out that the police were too slow to respond.
Learning from the fate of the farmers affected by the
fire accident in the Sai Surya storage facility, who are yet to receive the compensation packages promised to them, the agriculturists who stocked their chillies in Vengamamba staged a dharna outside the facility.
They refused to move till they are compensated for their loss.
However, the Guntur police disrupted the dharna, and attempted to forcibly evict the protesting farmers from the site.
Vengamamba Cold Storage Pvt. Ltd., the facility that burst into flames on Sunday night, is the latest victim of fire accidents. Nandini and Sai Surya cold storages had both met a similar fate a month ago.
Foul play was suspected when the Sai Surya storage caught fire, allegedly due to a short circuit. These suspicions were strengthened when the Vengamamba facility also caught fire after night fell, as was the case with Nandini and Sai Surya too.
Collector In-Charge Sarath who visited the facility soon after he was alerted about the incident addressed the media, wherein he stated that the possibility of foul play would be probed, and that investigation will commence on Monday.