Fire in Mcleodganj shop causes scare

Panic gripped McLeodganj late Friday evening when a fire suddenly broke out on the roof of a shop in the middle of the market. The Fire was reported in a cloth shop which was burned down completely. The flames reached the busy street leading to the Dalai Lama temple.

Due to the narrow streets in McLeodganj, controlling the fire was a challenge and people ran through the streets yelling and calling for help.

Fire tenders from Dharamsala managed to reach the spot in time and controlled the fire.

The shop that caught fire was in an old wooden building from where a Tibetan woman used to do run her business of readymade garments. She suffered tremendous financial losses, as per sources. The police is investigating the cause of the fire, which is suspected to have been caused due to electric short circuit, the sources told The Tribune.

The fire incident has once again brought to the fore the challenge of tackling any kind of disaster in the hill station. Over the years, voices have been raised regarding the illegal buildings coming up in McLeodganj in violation of the town and country planning norms. Even the office of the Union Ministry of External Affairs in McLeodganj has been surrounded by illegal high-rise buildings. Despite the ministry officials complaints, no action has been taken by the authorities.

Most of the illegal buildings in the hill station lacked fire safety NOC from the Fire Department. Moreover, the narrow lanes in the hill station makes the movement of fire tenders and other evacuation machinery almost impossible.