FLAMES OF NEGLECT | 4 houses gutted in Uri

Baramulla, Jan 18: At least four residential houses were reduced to ashes in the Dachi area of Uri in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, leaving over 24 occupants homeless.

The devastating fire, believed to have been caused by a short circuit, has shed light on the critical lapses in the village’s power and road infrastructure.

The locals said that the fire emanated from a residential house at around 4.30 am on Thursday.

They said that the fire immediately spread to three other houses, leaving all four residential houses gutted.

The residents attributed the fire to the poor infrastructure of the Power Development Department (PDD) in the area as the absence of electric poles and hazardous placement of electric wires above the houses caused the short circuit.

The aggrieved residents said that their repeated pleas to address these concerns fell on deaf ears, resulting in the devastating blaze.

Muhammad Saleem, a relative of one of the affected families, while expressing his frustration said, “The electric wires are flowing over houses and are tied to trees. Such poor distribution supply has the potential to cause a fire, and today the same thing happened.”

The four houses, owned by the Mir brothers - Muhammad Safeer Mir, Muhammad Nazir Mir, and Muneer Ahmad Mir, were destroyed in the fire. The affected families hold the PDD accountable for the devastating incident, blaming the lack of preventive measures for the substantial loss.

Compounding the tragedy, the fire tenders were unable to reach the affected area due to the absence of motorable connectivity caused by a 3-km dilapidated road.

Ajaz Ahmad, a shattered family member, said, "The fire tenders could not reach the place of fire as the Department of Roads and Buildings (R&B) has failed to construct the road length, resulting in complete damage to the houses."

Angered at the failure of both the PDD and R&B departments, the locals here demanded improved road connectivity and electricity infrastructure in the area.

They said that despite existing schemes aimed at enhancing the electricity infrastructure, the absence of electric poles persists, which is extremely dangerous for the residents.

“We urge the authorities to look into the infrastructural shortcomings like road connectivity and electricity distribution. The issue if not addressed in time can cause such incidents in future too,” the aggrieved residents said.