Jogeshwari fire destroys businesses; delivery riders lose vehicles

Zaid Khan, one of the delivery riders who lost his vehicle, said, “When I saw the fire, I didn’t think of my bike. I just ran to safety. I thought the vehicle would be fine since it was on the ground floor, but when we were finally allowed back, all the bikes were burnt. The firefighters told us burning debris from the top floors had fallen on them.”

Delivery rider Zaid Khan (right), who lost his bike in the fire

Another rider said, “Thankfully, most vehicles were electric; otherwise, the petrol bikes could’ve caused bigger issue. We’re lucky things didn’t get worse.”
Around nine riders were present when the fire broke out. Atul Singh, another delivery rider, said, “Some of us had new bikes with insurance, but others didn’t. We’ve been here all day, unable to work; we just hope we get compensation for our losses.” 

Clinic damaged

Several businesses on the upper floors were also affected. Dr Abdullah Shaikh, who owns a dermatology and medicine clinic on the 12th floor, said, “It was early in the morning, so only a few patients and staff were present. Thankfully, everyone was rescued safely.”
He added, “Our clinic is completely destroyed, medicines, furniture, equipment, everything. The insurance papers were inside the office, so we can’t even start the claim process until the building is cleared.”

Other businesses hit

Locals said the 13-storey building housed nearly 120 businesses, including clinics, boutiques, storage facilities, CA offices, and a tuition centre for children. Since schools were shut for Diwali, the tuition classes were closed too. Otherwise, there would have been more than 50 children in the building.

120
No. of businesses housed in the building

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