THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The people of the area and the city were shocked to hear of the fire that broke out in the scrap shop godown on Killipalam Bund Road yesterday. The reason for concern was that there were many such shops in the area. But most of the shops in the area, including the one that caught fire yesterday, were reportedly not licensed by the corporation. The information was given by the corporation officials themselves.

Most scrap shops are made of sheet metal. Therefore, the NOC of the Fire Force is not required. According to locals, the corporation did not pay enough attention to the complaints. Apart from this, the locals also face threats from the shopkeepers. It is a situation where a small spark can cause a large fire all over the place. In some scrap shops, tar is stored in barrels. Locals are worried that this will also lead to fires. There are no systems in place to put out a large fire if it happens. The water from the nearby river was used to put out the fire yesterday.