20121213 Nepal Bhotahiti fire leaves 12 families in the lurch
Nepal Dec 13 2012 “Houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 1 to 9
Bhotahiti fire leaves 12 families in the lurch
Updated at: 2012-12-14 10:25 PM
KATHMANDU: Twelve families including that of landlord Govinda Khwaju have been left to fend for themselves after property worth millions of rupees was gutted in the fire that broke out in Bhotahiti yesterday, police said.
The fire had spread from 28-year-old Pravina Shrestha’s rented room at around 8.00 pm. Landlord Khwaju had rented out all the rooms of the five-storey building to 11 families while he lived with his family at Sanepa, Lalitpur.
DSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka, said property and infrastructure worth Rs 133 million were gutted in the fire. “Twelve families including that of Khwaju have been affected by the fire.”
Members of the families used to work as street vendors to make a living.
“They used to store their goods, especially clothes, in their rooms and they lost everything they had,” police said.
The fire was caused by LPG leakage in Pravina’s room and spread to two other adjacent houses, causing minor damages. The Nepali Army, Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force, with help of fire engines and private water trucks, doused the fire after two hours.
Police said the street vendor families have suffered losses ranging from Rs 60,000 to Rs 7,00,000 in the incident. However, physical infrastructure worth Rs 10 million belonging to Khwaju has been reduced to ashes. Around 30 people were in the house when the fire broke out. However, none of them escaped injuries as they managed to flee on time.
According to police, Birendra Saud, a firefighter with Juddha Barun Yantra, was injured while trying to extinguish the blaze. He has been undergoing treatment at Bir Hospital.
Websourse: The Himalayan Times