10 houses, 8 shops gutted in Anantnag

Anantnag, July 2: Property worth crores of rupees went up in smoke after a massive fire broke out in Mehman Mohalla in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district late Monday night.

According to residents, the blaze erupted in a residential house post-midnight and the flames engulfed the adjoining houses and business establishments rather quickly, razing 10 houses and 8 shops to the ground.

The fire left a trail of devastation in the densely populated locality, located adjacent to Lal Chowk, the business nerve centre of the district.

“As soon as the cries emanated from the houses caught in fire, people piled out of their homes and struggled to put out the flames”, said a resident.

He said firefighters immediately reached the spot and battled the blaze for several hours.

“The fire was brought under control, but it caused a huge property damage”.

Jeelani, a fire victim said that he could not salvage anything from his home.

He said that all household goods including cash and gold went up in flames.

A senior official from the district administration told Greater Kashmir that a team of officials visited the area and assessed the loss.

He said that the victims would be provided with adequate compensation.

A Fire and Emergency official said that two officials from the department, Imtiyaz Ahmad and Khursheed Ahmad sustained injuries during the drawn-out firefighting operation.

“They were shifted to District Hospital Anantnag for treatment,” he said.