New Delhi: At 8.30 pm Wednesday, Vijay Kumar Jha, a Madhubani painting seller, was closing his Dilli Haat stall for the day when he saw flames engulf the shops around him. Within minutes, his own stall, and 39 others, and all the hand-painted artworks he had brought from Bihar were destroyed.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire that spread late Wednesday evening. Standing outside the sealed compound of the cultural market in INA, shopkeepers Thursday alleged that it took the fire services at least an hour to reach the spot, while the blaze destroyed their stalls in just 15 minutes.
They also alleged negligence by the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), which manages Dilli Haat, saying an incident like this was just waiting to happen.
“There was a gas pipe running under the shops, and the electric wiring was extremely makeshift. The situation was so bad that when we tried using fire extinguishers, they were completely empty and the fire exits were closed,” Jha told ThePrint, adding that a mishap like this could have happened any time.
Jitendra Kumar, whose silver jewellery stall was among the 40 gutted in the fire, also alleged that all the gates were closed, the fire extinguishers were empty, and the fire services department was late to the scene.
Atul Garg, director of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), told ThePrint that a total of 14 fire tenders were rushed to the market. Responding to allegations of delay, he said, “All the fire exits and gates were closed. We reached there in 5-6 minutes, but there was no way to go inside, so it took us around 10 minutes to go in from a different lane. We had to get the gates opened.”
While no major injuries were reported, fire service officials told ThePrint. Shopkeepers estimate a loss of at least Rs 10 crore.
Jha’s stall contained paintings worth Rs 5 to 7 lakh, all Madhubani or Mithila artworks, a vibrant folk art form originating from the Mithila region of Bihar. “We have around 100 families in our village who are dependent on these paintings for their livelihood. They create these art pieces, then we bring them here and later distribute the money among the artisans. Their hard work is gone now,” Jha told ThePrint. He was standing outside the compound, hoping to be allowed to go inside and check if anything was still left.
ThePrint reached Icha Shankar Upadhyay, chief manager of Dilli Haat under DTTDC, Promila Dudeja, the deputy manager of Dilli Haat under DTTDC, and Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra for comment through calls and texts. This report will be updated if and when they respond.
In a post shared on X, Mishra said, “CM @gupta_rekha ji has given assurance that the Delhi government is fully with the suffering artisans. The cause of the fire will be investigated.”
दिल्ली हाट में लगी आग में कई दुकानें जलकर राख हो गई हैं
प्रभु की कृपा से कोई हताहत नहीं हुआ
अभी मैं दिल्ली हाट में हूँ और पीड़ितों से मिल रहा हूँ
CM @gupta_rekha जी ने भरोसा दिया है कि दिल्ली सरकार पूरी तरह पीड़ित कारीगरों के साथ है
आगजनी के कारणों की जांच की जाएगी pic.twitter.com/zMQ7NrS442
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) April 30, 2025
In a post on X, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta called the news of the fire incident “unfortunate” and said, “The team of firefighters have brought the fire under control. No casualties have been reported so far. We are closely monitoring the situation & ensuring all necessary assistance to those affected.”
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Demand for reimbursement
Munir Qadir, a Kashmiri pashmina stall owner told ThePrint that there had been smaller fire incidents in the market before as well, but this was the first massive blaze.
Qadir, just like many Kashmiri businessmen, had been coming to Dilli Haat to run their stalls for at least 15 years now. With pure pashmina shawls and Kashmiri pherans costing lakhs of rupees having now gone up in flames, Qadir’s business is now at a standstill.
For business owners like him, getting a space in Dilli Haat used to be a moment of pride to present their culture to national and international customers. It began every year with an online bidding for stalls. Depending on the tenure and value of the stalls, shopkeepers would pay hefty sums to get their businesses running.
“The minimum rent for the shopkeepers is around Rs 15,000 per month,” he said, adding that he was among the stall owners who bid the highest to get stalls for at least three months.
“How do I feel about all of this?” Qadir said and, then, answering his own question, added, “It is a critical situation for all of us. Our families depend on it.”
Just like Jha’s situation, at least 100 more artisans back in Kashmir depend on stall owners like Qadir as they make the precious pashmina shawls that take months or sometimes even years to get ready. “We have to pay them for the shawls that they made for us,” he rued.
Qadir, on behalf of all the stall owners, told ThePrint that the rent for the bidding amount should be waived and no rent should be charged for at least five years.
Jha, too, had a demand along the same lines.
“We demand an immediate reimbursement of all our goods that were damaged. Delhi Haat is a good market, but it needs better safety measures, a good security system, and better wiring so that people come here and feel safe,” Jha said.
Jha was supposed to be stationed at the market for 15 days. Footfall, he said, was already extremely low because of the sudden increase in temperature in New Delhi, leaving him with no earned income from the 15-day period and just the ashes of his burnt paintings.
The government has assured the business owners that they will receive all the necessary help. Speaking to the media, Tourism minister Kapil Mishra said shopkeepers will be given compensation and the stalls will be reallocated by the government.
The silver jewellery shop owner, Kumar, has not left Dilli Haat since last night, hoping to salvage anything that is left. “Important personalities like the CM and PM live in Delhi, yet such an incident happened here. Why are our problems not considered important enough?”
During the fire, while saving foreign customers, the stall owner, who has been running the shop in Dilli Haat for eight years now, said that at least four stall owners suffered burn injuries on their hands and arms. “We need compensation and help.”
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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