Masjid gutted in Saraf Kadal blaze

Srinagar, Nov 28: With no let-up in fire incidents in the summer capital, a masjid was gutted during mid-night blaze at Saraf Kadal area in Downtown.

Officials from the Fire and Emergency Service said that they received information at around 1 am and soon pressed multiple fire tenders to douse off the fire. He said that the fire started from the top floor of the two-storey masjid and engulfed it in no time.

“We pressed eight fire tenders from Headquarters, MR Gung, SH Pora, and Babademb fire stations. The fire was brought under control in time and was kept from spreading to the congested locality,” said the official.

The official said that the attic and first floor of the mosque known as Masjid Mahajir-e- Millat were gutted in the incident.

“Furnishing, holy books, and windows of the masjid were gutted in the incident. There are two shops on the ground floor of the masjid, which were saved by our timely action,” he added.
The officials said that initial investigation revealed that the fire was caused by the heating up of the Hamam chimney, which caused major damage to the masjid.

The masjid committee members have appealed to the general public to help in rebuilding the masjid that hosts scores of worshippers in the area.

“The ground floor of the masjid is also water damaged, and we will have to build it from scratch. The fire fighters did a good job and kept fire from spreading in our congested locality. We hope people will
contribute to rebuilding the masjid as soon as possible,” said a mosque committee member.

To mention this is the third fire incident in Srinagar city in the last two days. On Sunday, an elderly lady died while three others were injured after a gas leakage caused a fire in Lal Bazar area. A building and a masjid were also damaged on the same day in Bohri Kadal area in Downtown.