8 houses in Rohru destroyed by fire
Tribune News Service
Shimla, December 26
Sixteen families were rendered homeless as eight houses were destroyed in a fire that broke out at Bagi village of Munchada gram panchayat in Rohru subdivision of Shimla last evening. However, there was no loss of life.
The houses of 13 families were reduced to ashes while the houses of three families were partially damaged. Fire engines from Rohru and Jubbal reached the village and started dousing the fire with the help of villagers but itfire spread to adjoining houses. It took the firemen over two hours to control the blaze.
The villagers, whose houses were completely destroyed, are Pawan, Sishma Devi, Balwant, Rameshwari, Swarna Devi, Sukhdev, Harikrishan, Hari, Saligram, Chaman Lal, Suresh, Hardev, and Ramdass while the partially-damaged houses belong to Ramdass, Hansraj and Manoj Kumar.
The cause of fire is yet to be ascertained but villagers said that they had heard a cylinder blast, following which people came out of their houses. The incident was being investigated, said Rohru SDM Babu Ram.
Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, who visited the village today, said that an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each was given to the 13 victim families while a relief of Rs 7,000 each was given to the three families whose houses were partially damaged. Besides, daily essential goods such as beds, mattresses, quilts, utensils and ration were provided to them. The administration had been directed to calculate the loss at the earliest, he said.
Concerned over the increased incidents of fire in Rohru and Jubbal areas, Bhardwaj said that he would talk to the Rural Development Minister to provide fire extinguishers to people, who could not afford these.
He said that due to a shortage of water tanks, there was a problem of water distribution. He directed officials concerned to make necessary arrangements. He said that timber would be provided to the affected families for the construction of houses. Temporary arrangements for their stay would be made at a nearby school, he added.
Earlier, nine families were rendered shelterless when 16 rooms of a four-storey building were gutted by a fire at Gujandali village in Tikker panchayat of Rohru on December 5.
