Major fire destroys hutments near Maqsudan bypass

Ajay Joshi

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 11

A massive fire broke out at a slum area near Maqsudan bypass on Thursday morning. The fire was initially reported at a tea stall outside a slum due to a cylinder blast, following which it slowly spread to the other slums. As a result, around 8-10 cylinders also exploded in succession.

SHO police division 1 Rajesh Kumar said the incident was reported around 9.30 am. Thereafter, a team of cops was sent to the spot for the rescue operation. Around 4 to 5 shanties of the slum were destroyed in the incident. The inconsolable slum dwellers residing there have reportedly suffered losses worth lakhs. They were living there for the last 30 to 50 years.

As per the latest reports, several firefighting teams were deployed at the spot. Sukhjinder Singh, a Fire Department official, said it took them around an hour to control the blaze.

“As many as six fire tenders were called to the spot to bring the flames under control. We were intimated about the incident by some locals on our helpline number. Immediately, two fire tenders were rushed to the spot followed by six others, considering the intensity of the fire. After extinguishing the fire, we recovered around seven damaged cylinders. A few others were also estimated to have exploded in the blast,” Sukhjinder said.

Area MLA Bawa Henry also visited the site and assured necessary help to those who suffered losses. Meanwhile, no casualty was reported as most of the dwellers had gone for work. Notably, this is the second cylinder blast reported in the city within a week.

Lost all they had

Sarita Devi (32), who was sitting near the remains of her shanty with her two children, said she lost all her savings in the fire. “We didn’t know how the fire erupted. People outside were screaming, asking us to come out,” she said while weeping.

Looking for his savings in the charred belongings, Binod Kumar (30), a vegetable vendor, said he and his three brothers had gone to nearby colonies to sell vegetables when the incident took place. As he has a family of around eight members, there were five cylinders in his hutment. Apart from cash savings, he lost his motorcycle and a bicycle in the fire.

Likewise, Aghaniyan Devi (50), who is a housemaid, said she had also gone to work when her hard-earned money was gutted in the fire. She had saved around Rs40,000 for her daughter, who was to get married this year. “My husband was sleeping inside the tent, when he felt a burning sensation around his neck. Hearing the blast, he came out and saw everything going up in flames. My son works as an ice-cream vendor, our two bikes also got completely damaged,” Aghaniyan, who spent her 35 years in the same area, said.

Red Cross to give ration to victims

Jalandhar: DC Ghanshyam Thori directed the District Red Cross Society to distribute ration kits among distressed families whose shanties were gutted in the fire near Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony. The families of migrant labourers were living in the slums and had lost their belongings in a fire. The Deputy Commissioner said ration kits containing wheat flour, pulses, sugar, tea, mustard oil, dry milk, spices, soap, vegetables and other items would be distributed by the society. He said the incident was very unfortunate and it was the moral duty of the district administration to help the affected families in this hour of grief. TNS