Surat: Following a devastating fire at the Shivshakti Market in Surat, merchants are resorting to selling fire and water-damaged sarees by the kilogram, a stark contrast to their usual piece-by-piece sales. The fire, which occurred over two weeks ago, left a trail of destruction and forced traders to face significant financial losses.

The Shivshakti Market, home to over 800 shops, saw approximately 300 units escape the direct flames. However, these salvaged sarees suffered extensive damage from smoke and water used to extinguish the blaze. With no other viable option, traders have been forced to sell these goods at drastically reduced prices to recoup some of their losses.

Once fetching prices between 300 to 400 rupees per piece, these sarees are now being sold to scrap dealers (“lotwalas”) for a mere 35 rupees per kilogram. Given that a single saree typically weighs around 500 grams, this translates to a heartbreaking price of just 17.50 rupees per saree.

Sunil Kothari, the president of the Shivshakti Market, estimates that approximately 90 crore rupees worth of sarees were saved from the flames. While some of these may be salvageable after reprocessing, the majority are deemed unusable and are being sold off as scrap.

The process of clearing the damaged goods began in the last five to six days, following approval from the authorities. Traders anticipate that a larger volume of sarees will be removed in the coming days. The situation highlights the desperate circumstances faced by the merchants, who are left with no choice but to sell their once valuable merchandise at rock-bottom prices. DeshGujarat