36 houses gutted in Rohru village

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 18

As many as 36 houses were destroyed in a devastating fire, rendering more than 54 families homeless at Kshaini village of Tikker panchayat in Rohru, Shimla district, about 125 km from here, on Tuesday night.

The fire, which broke out around 2 am, spread fast and engulfed a large number of houses.

Villagers got together and tried to control the blaze from spreading to adjoining houses, but could not do much. Most structures were reduced to ashes by the time fire tenders reached the spot.

The Rohru SDM and the DSP too reached the village along with rescue teams.

Four fire tenders were rushed from Kotkhai and Rohru and it took them more than five hours to bring the fire under control.

Property worth crores of rupees was destroyed, but no loss of life was reported. “The damage is being assessed by revenue officials and victims have been given an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each, besides temporary shelter, ration, clothes, blankets and other essential items,” said Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap. The villagers said a short-circuit could be the reason behind the fire. The exact cause is, however, being investigated.

The old structures, mostly wooden, went up in flames in no time. Rohru SDM Babu Ram Sharma said a relief camp had been set up and a community kitchen started. Arrangements have been made at a community hall. Doctors have also been called.

Those affected include the families of Ram Krishan, Dushyant, Pradeep, Suresh, Rajinder, Hariender, Bhagat Chand, Brig Pal, Prem lal, Anil Kumar, Rajinder Singh, Digvijay, Geeta Ram, Prem Raj, Tapender, Dharmender, Tilak Raj, Hari Ram, Girdhari lal, Ramesh, Dharam Chand, Puran Chand, Omkar, Rajinder, Naresh, Dinesh, rakesh, Tumri Devi, Ram Krishan, Girja nand, Hemraj, Ashok, Rajesh, Damodar Das, Rajender, Harpal, Satish, Hira Lal, Brij lal, Rangoli Devi, Balvir, Kamal Krishan, Amrit, Satish, Ashwani, Narvir, Mithi Devi, Bhag Chand, Jagdish Chand, Sunder Lal, Maher Chand and Prem Prakash.

Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj and Kotkhai MLA Narender Bragata also visited the spot to take stock of the situation.

“Due to debris, re-construction at the same site is not possible,” said Bhardwaj, adding that a proposal would be sent to the state government for providing land to the affected families.

This is the second such incident in Rohru in the past 24 hours. A two-storey house was gutted in fire at Rapadi Bamta village in Rohru on Tuesday morning. Most houses in the villages are wooden and given the hill topography of the state not all houses in the village have motorable roads. Moreover, fire stations are located in towns far from village and in case of a fire, the damage is done before the fire tenders reach the spot.

Recent fire incidents in state

• October 30, 2017: As many as 25 houses and 10 cowsheds were destroyed in a massive fire at Dahar village in Mandi.
• January 16, 2017: As many as 57 houses were reduced to ashes and 14 head of cattle killed in a fire at Tangnu village of Chirgaon in Rohru.
• November 15, 2015: A massive fire destroyed more than 70 houses, livestock and three ancient temples at Kotla village in Banjar, Kullu district.