A cold storage facility called Vengamamba Cold Storage, in Guntur, stocking red chillies caught fire on Sunday night. The fire is reportedly quite fierce, and tons of red chillies have been destroyed, smashing to the ground livelihoods of several farmers. Fire-fighting equipment has been called into service.
This is the third time this month that a chilli storage facility in Guntur has caught fire. The last 2 - Nandhini Cold Storage and
Sai Surya Cold Storage - also burst into flames quite late in the night.
In the case of the fire accident at Sai Surya, the management had claimed that the mishap was caused due to a short circuit, but there have been suspicions of foul play raised in this regard.
Either way, it is the farmers who stand to lose, since a quintal of red chilli is being priced between Rs. 9,000 and Rs. 10,000 at present.