12 August 2015 (The Star) GEORGE TOWN: Thinking that business will be good this Deepavali, S. Patmanathan has been stocking up on prayer paraphernalia since April.
However, all his preparations went up in smoke on Monday night when his four shophouses – among the biggest oulets in Little India here – were razed, resulting in a loss of over RM1mil.
“I received two shipments every week and all the goods were for Deepavali. I anticipated sales to be good this year,” said the 28-year-old.
The fire is believed to have started on the second floor of one of the shophouses in Penang Street before quickly spreading to three other lots selling prayer items and sundry goods at the intersection with China Street.
The four pre-war shophouses were over a century old and located within the George Town World Heritage Site.
Patmanathan said his staff alerted him about the fire.
“My father started the business in 1998 and I joined him in 2001. I then took over the business in 2010 when he passed away.
“I lost all our important documents as I had kept these in the office upstairs where the fire started,” he said, adding that there were eight staff members and several customers in the shop when the fire broke out.
“Once the contractor estimates the damage, I will proceed with the rebuilding.
“We need to resume business as my employees have families to support. This is our bread and butter,” he said.
Malaysian Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Penang president Datuk N. Vasantharajan advised the building owners to apply for cement flooring.
“We value the heritage zone system but a cement flooring could have prevented the fire from spreading,” he said.
State exco member Chow Kon Yeow said he would get the municipal council and the Heritage Department to work with Patmanathan’s contractor for a speedy rebuilding permit.
