Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 14: At least 8 houses were gutted in Batamaloo’s Sheikh Hamza Colony during an overnight blaze that erupted out of one of the houses situated at a congested location.
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As per the officials, the blaze has rendered over 24 family members homeless while the damage sustained in the incident has been said to be severe.
During the incident, officials said that several firemen were also injured. They have been identified as Muhammad Ahsan Malla, Akshay Sehgal and Muhammad Altaf Rather.
The officials said that a call of fire was made around 11 pm during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday and soon after that the fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse down the flames.
However, the locals said that the fire tenders reached the spot after a much delay.
“Eight residential houses, all three-storied were involved in the fire while as the time of the call was 22:53,” officials said, adding 10 fire stations were called in for the firefighting operation.
The fire stations that were on job include Headquarters Srinagar, Gowkadal, S. H. Pora, M. R. Gunj, Rawalpora, Rainawari, Safakadal, Babademb, M. A. Road and L.D.
The residents said that the fire spread so quickly that by the time they spotted the flames, the fire was already everywhere.
“We couldn’t take anything out; the fire was everywhere; all we could do was to run for safety and now, we have been left with nothing,” Javeed Ahmad Sheikh one of the residents said.
He said that at least 8 houses have been destroyed in the fire and around 35 members living in these houses have been affected.
The residents said that the fire tenders reached the spot late. “They reached here with a delay and due to the narrow lanes they could not get here in time, but then, they tried to do their best,” the residents said.
When this report was being filed, the affected families were not provided with any sort of help by the administration.
“We spent a night on the road, but the administration has not done anything for us for far; we had nothing to eat; not to talk of shelter, some people came and wrote down the names, nothing else,” the residents said.
While the residents said that the fire was caused due to a short circuit, the police have registered a case in this regard and the cause of the fire is being ascertained.
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