About 200 stalls at the Uptown Puchong Night Bazaar were destroyed in a blaze early today with total losses estimated at nearly RM1 million.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department deputy director (operations) Norizham Mohd Nudin said about 200 stalls, including 80 which were open during the incident, were destroyed in the fire.
“Preliminary investigations found that the fire started from the middle while the cause of the incident and the total losses are still under investigation,” he said when met at the scene.
“The fire department received a distress call at 7.58am and the blaze was brought under control about an hour later,” he said
He said 40 firefighters from Puchong, Serdang, Kota Anggerik and Petaling Jaya stations together with six fire engines were deployed to the scene.
Meanwhile, senator R Suresh Singh, who represents Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, and Seri Serdang assemblyperson Siti Mariah Mahmud were present to render assistance.
Siti Mariah, when met by reporters, said she will assist the bazaar stall owners by looking for a temporary site for them to do business to ease their burden.
“We will discuss further action with the Subang Jaya Municipal Council soon as the bazaar has no planning permission,” she added.
The administrative officer of the bazaar, Abdul Rahim Shah, 59, said most of them had their businesses there since 2011 and the bazaar opened daily from 8.30pm to 1am with the rental rate per month at RM300 per shop lot.
A trader Siti Zuraidah Bakar, 37, who has been selling beauty and health products at the bazaar for the past three months, said she lost about RM20,000.
“I do not know what to do, I hope the elected representatives could help. I already contacted the product vendor and informed about the loss,” she said.
She said during the incident, she was at her other store located about 200 metres from the scene.
“At first I thought the fire came from the flat houses nearby, but when a customer informed that the marketplace was on fire… I rushed here but it was all gone,” she added.
- Bernama
