20211028 Himachal Pradesh: Fire razes 17 houses in Malana village
India Oct 28 2021 “Building” “Houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Himachal Pradesh: Fire razes 17 houses in Malana village
Updated: 2021-10-28
Officials suspect the fire broke out due to short circuit and spread as the houses are made of wood
MANALI: A fire destroyed 17 houses in ancient Malana village of Himachal’s Kullu district late on Tuesday night, leaving as many as 150 people from 57 families homeless.
The fire broke out in the house of a villager, identified as Sai Ram, at about 1 am and spread after the house was reduced to ashes within a few minutes. The villagers, who had seen the entire Malana village being destroyed by fire in January 2008, contacted the fire services despite knowing it would be of no help as there is no road to the village. Desperate to avoid the 2008-like devastation, the villagers tried to douse the fire by pouring water and even succeeded in controlling fire at one end but it flared up again and spread to other houses.
Teams of the fire department, police, and home guards rushed to the remote village in Parvati valley, but it was too late already. Malana is reachable only after a half-an-hour drive from Jari village and then a two-hourlong steep climb and there is one under-construction road to the village.
“The fire broke out at Dhara Behad of Malana before 1 am and it engulfed 17 houses till early morning. The families have lost everything. They may have to live in tents in such cold weather. Fortunately, the rest of the village has been saved. We have still not forgotten the winter of 2008 when the entire village was destroyed by fire. Hopefully, the government will help the victims in building new houses,” Malana resident Singha Ram said.
Kullu deputy commissioner Ashutosh Garg said the main hurdle in quick relief operation was the remoteness of the village which is not connected by road. “The teams transported water pumps, generator, pipes, etc to the village with help of small ropeway established by the villagers. Fire services, police, and home guards with help of villagers could control the fire and protect most of the houses. But many houses have been damaged and nearly 150 people have been affected,” he said.
The DC said the damage to the property has initially been estimated to be about Rs 9 crore. “Fortunately, there was no human loss. We visited the village to take stock of the situation. Immediate relief has been given to affected families as per the government relief manual. Other relief materials have also reached the village. The reason behind this incident is still unknown as there was nobody in the house from where the fire broke out. I have requested villagers to take utmost care while using electric heaters or tandoors in the houses in the winter season. As all houses in the village are made of mostly timber, fire spreads very fast.”
Kullu SP Gurdev Chand Sharma said 17 houses and one shop have been gutted in the fire. “The fire started from the house of Sai Ram. A total of 57 families have been affected. Preliminary investigation suggests that fire broke out due to short circuit.”
Expressing grief over the incident in Malana, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said he has directed the district administration to visit the site and provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected families.
Every year hundreds of houses, and sometimes complete villages, are destroyed in fires in the Kullu district during the winter season. According to the fire department, winter fires can mostly be attributed to electric short-circuits.
The 2008 devastation More than 150 houses of Malana village were gutted in a massive fire in January 2008. The ancient village, home to wooden kath-Kuni architectural style houses, was reduced to ashes in a few hours. Barely a few houses in the upper end of the village, which are away from the main village, survived the devastation. The entire village was rebuilt in the next few years and the villagers again used timber as the main construction material.
Web Source: The Times of India