17 residential sheds gutted in Parimpora blaze

Srinagar: At least 17 residential sheds were gutted in a fire incident at Parimpora area here on Sunday.

Police said fire started from one of the residential sheds and soon engulfed other structures.

An official said that they received information about the fire incident at around 4 am and soon rushed fire tenders from different fire stations to douse off flames. He said that at least 13 fire tenders were pressed into service from Headquarters, Safakadal , Mujgund and other fire stations.

“By the time the fire was controlled, it had damaged at least 17 structures. This includes two non-residential sheds. We tried our best to douse off the flames, but the wooden sheds burnt rapidly. This was aided by the materials like bedding, clothing, and other things which accelerated the fire. In the incident, one sheep also died. However there was no loss of any human life, and fire was brought under control and kept from spreading further,” said an official of Fire and Emergency Department.

He said the cause of the fire was being investigated. The families whose structures were gutted in the incident belong from weaker economic background.

The locals demanded help from the authorities so that the victims could continue with their normal lives.

“We are from poor families, and we have lost everything in the incident. This is the second such incident from last year. The government has been saying that people like us, who don’t own houses, will be given land and rehabilitated, but nothing is being done on the ground. We demand proper rehabilitation,” a fire victim said.

The victims said that lack of rehabilitation over the past many years is taking a toll on them. “We don’t need blankets and food unless there is a proper rehabilitation plan for us. There are many victims who had bought gold and other things for their daughters’ marriage, and they lost everything. We appeal to the government to help us,” said another victim.