Blaze ravages Tulail

Bandipora, Oct 14: The residents of Gurez shut their shops and business establishments on Monday against the administration for failing to address Gurez’s demand for a fire service facility.

On Sunday night, 10 shops in Dawar tehsil's Tulail market were gutted and two houses were reduced to rubble.

Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Gurez, Mukhtar Ahmad told Greater Kashmir that the ground report suggests that 10 shops and two residential houses were fully damaged in the fire.

Locals said that the fire might have started due to a short-circuit.

Sharing anguish, local Abdul Raheem said Gurez has only two fire tenders – one each in Dawar and Tulail.

However, he said that there was also an acute “lack of staff” in the department.

“Bagtore region does not have fire tenders,” Raheem said.

He said Gurez mostly has wooden structures and is known for its log houses.

“The market area is also mostly constructed from wood,” Raheem said.

“We had apprehensions that the fire would engulf the whole area as a DG generator is located nearby. However the efforts of locals, officials, Police, and the Army helped contain the spread of fire,” locals said.

They said that besides the shortage of fire tenders, the shortage of drivers and staff has also become a hurdle in controlling these fire incidents.

Moreover, with various small hamlets, mostly in the Tulail area, scattered in remote areas, fire tenders are often not able to reach the spot.

Gurez has witnessed similar fire incidents in the past.

In 2020, over 12 houses and several other structures were reduced to ashes in a devastating fire in Buduaab village in Gurez’s Tulail area.

In February this year, locals accused the Fire and Emergency officials of delayed response to a fire in Markoot village, just 1 km from Gurez market where the fire tender is stationed, resulting in a house getting reduced to ashes.

The aggrieved locals then tried to break the windscreens of the fire tender.

To again attract the attention of the administration towards their plight, locals in a protest observed a shutdown.

Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti appealed to the government to provide appropriate help to the victims.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament Engineer Rashid, who was in Gurez, visited the area on Sunday and offered his one-month salary as assistance to the affected.

“Gurez has two fire tenders but only one driver. Besides, there was some snag in the machinery when the incident happened,” he said.

Rashid said he had requested the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bandipora for further assistance and would take up the matter with the DG Fire and Emergency Service to also allot a fire extinguisher to Bagtore.

Besides this, he said other matters related to Gurez had been taken up with the Lieutenant Governor and Divisional Commissioner too.

“Whatever assistance Gurez and the victims need, will be provided,” Rashid said.