20150613 India Kaushambi slum gutted in blaze
India Jun 12 2015 “Houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : more than 70 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Kaushambi slum gutted in blaze
Updated: 2015-06-14-04:23
More than 1,000 shanties were gutted in a fire that blazed through the slum near Radisson Blu hotel in Kaushambi in the early hours of Saturday, rendering more than 2,000 people homeless.
According to fire department officials, such was the intensity of the blaze that it took 10 fire-tenders nearly three hours to douse the flames. Although no one was injured, the fire took away most of the belongings of the slum dwellers, who could be seen scouring for their possessions amid the smoke that persisted till late afternoon.
Ghaziabad’s chief fire officer V K Singh said that they had first received information of the fire around 2.45am. “We first rushed three fire-tenders into service, but soon had to rush seven more from Modinagar and Noida fire stations as it became evident that it could not be controlled. Dry weather and the fact that shanties were built of inflammable objects caused problems,” said Singh, adding that a short circuit seems to have caused the fire.
Md Naseem, a scrapdealer who lived in a shanty, said he had lost most of his belongings in the fire. “We first heard the commotion around 3am and got out of the house to find out what had happened. I saw a few shanties go up in flames at a small distance. Soon it engulfed adjoining areas too, so I rushed back in an attempt to salvage whatever I could,” he said.
However, the slum dwellers will get no relief from the government. District magistrate Vimal Kumar Sharma said that all the shanties were constructed illegally on land belonging to the Ghaziabad Development Authority, and therefore, no compensation will be granted to them by the government.
But, the district magistrate said, the district administration would provide fire victims essential items. A sub-divisional magistrate has been deputed to monitor the arrangements, he said.
Web Source: The times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Kaushambi-slum-gutted-in-blaze/articleshow/47660802.cms