Forest fire damages 4 houses in Udhampur

Jammu, June 20

Four houses were damaged in a fire that raged in the forest areas of Bali-Tirchi in Udhampur district.

The fire, which broke out late Wednesday evening in compartment number 67 under the Udhampur forest division, intensified due to strong winds and spread to ward number 2 of Upper Bali Panchayat.

The residents whose houses were damaged in the fire have demanded compensation from the administration. The authorities have provided tents, Rs 5,000 cash relief each and ration kits to the eight families affected due to the fire.

Narsoo Naib Tehsildar Mian Khan said revenue department teams were promptly deployed to assess the damage after receiving information about the fire. A report detailing the losses had been submitted to the higher authorities for facilitating immediate relief, he added.

On receiving information about the fire, Forest Department personnel, firefighters, SDRF and NDRF teams reached the spot along with the police. Later, a team of the Defence Fire Services of the Indian Army also reached the spot to control the blaze. Range officer Sanjeev Khajuria said, “After getting information about the forest fire, our teams rushed to the spot to control the blaze, but gusty winds helped the fire spread rapidly.”