A fire broke out around 7 am on 17 September 2026 at the three-storey Sethi Complex in Purohitji Ka Katla, a cloth and garment market inside Jaipur's walled city (Parkota), near Badi Chaupar. It destroyed 15-20 shops and godowns trading in readymade garments, cosmetics, bangles and jewellery, much of it freshly stocked for the festival season. No one was hurt, as the market was closed at the time. More than 20 fire tenders responded, but because vehicles could not reach the complex through the market's narrow lanes, firefighters had to lay hoses hundreds of metres by hand; it took about four hours to bring the fire under control.
The walled city's lanes are too narrow for fire engines, which is why a dedicated fire-hydrant network — 14 hydrant points installed at a cost of roughly ₹4 crore and handed over around 2023 — was meant to give firefighters a water source close to the market. Officials say the network did not work as intended during this fire. A site inspection afterward by the Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission found a hydrant point stuffed with lemons and chillies, and fire-suppression pipeline nozzles on the complex's second floor sealed shut with decorative flower garlands. The complex itself had no Fire Department No-Objection Certificate (NOC). Investigators also found that water supply was interrupted for around 15 minutes during the firefighting operation, and that fire tenders on site lacked the gauges needed to measure how much water they were carrying.
Two Jaipur Nagar Nigam fire officials — Chief Fire Officer Devendra Meena and Assistant Fire Officer Kuldeep Mantwal — were suspended on 18 September over the lapses. The state's local self-government department set up a three-member committee, headed by an Additional Director, to report within seven days on the cause of the fire, the complex's Fire NOC and building-approval records, whether the firefighting systems were actually functional, and the permissions held by a rooftop restaurant operating at the site. Separately, the Human Rights Commission, led by its chairman, Justice G.R. Mulchandani, issued a 13-point notice to civic and fire authorities seeking details of hydrant locations and their working condition, fire-tender water capacity, the response timeline on the day of the fire, and what action has been taken against the building's owner for operating without a Fire NOC. The commission has fixed its next hearing for 9 October 2026.
Traders in Purohitji Ka Katla, one of the walled city's oldest and busiest markets, have questioned why a hydrant system they believed was functional failed when it was needed, and why a complex without a Fire NOC was allowed to keep operating, including a rooftop restaurant above ground-floor shops. Similar gaps — commercial buildings without a valid Fire NOC, hydrants that are installed but not maintained or not cleared for use — are common in Jaipur's older markets, and this fire is a reminder that a shop's years of trade or visible business activity says nothing about whether the building itself meets fire-safety requirements.
If you own, rent, or are considering buying or leasing a shop in an older Jaipur market, it is worth checking the property's Fire NOC and safety-compliance status separately from its ownership papers, before an emergency rather than after. Haqdar can help you verify a commercial property's approvals and compliance history before you commit any money.