Early morning fire scare at Naali Mohalla; PSPCL blamed

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 27

A major tragedy was averted after a fire broke out allegedly due to ‘sparking’ in electricity wires at Naali Mohalla, Deepak Cinema Road, on Sunday morning. Four two-wheelers and an air-conditioner belonging to local residents were damaged by the fire. Besides, scrap kept under a shed was destroyed.

No casualty was reported. Power supply had remained disrupted in the area for about 10 hours.

According to the local residents, the scrap kept under a temporary shed caught fire after sparks in the power lines. Panic gripped the local residents when flames spread to the nearby houses. The families, including children, who were sleeping, came out of their houses to protect themselves around 5 am.

The residents said two scooters, a bike and a cycle, which were parked outside houses, were damaged by the fire. They demanded compensation from Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

The residents also claimed that an AC installed at a nearby house also got damaged. Sources claimed the Internet and telecommunication services were also affected in the area after the fire incident.

Santosh, a resident, said: “Our two-wheeler was gutted in the fire. The people were sleeping when the incident took place. The government should pay compensation as the fire broke out due to sparks in the power lines.”

Paramjit Singh, whose office is located next to the gutted shed, said: “We had repeatedly complained about sparking in wires, but to no avail. The PSPCL should fix such dangling wires to avoid fire mishaps in future.”

Two fire engines were rushed to spot. It took the firefighters around 45 minutes to douse the flames, claimed Malkit Singh, a resident.