Srinagar, Dec 14: At least seven residential houses were gutted in the tourist hub of Dalgate last night while the locals alleged that the firefighters didn’t reach in time nor the police came to their rescue.
 The 5-storeyed house of Abdul Rasheed Bhat, owner of a prominent news agency in the area was also damaged in the incident, which left around two dozen families shelter-less.
 The locals said the fire broke out at around 11 PM but the firefighters reached some 45 minutes after that. They said a lot could have been saved had the firefighters arrived in time.
 The locals were up in arms against the administration and the local MLA Yasin Shah as they accused him of being “alien to the area” who visits the constituency only during elections.
 “The fire-station people didn’t pick the phone and we finally had to personally rush to them to seek assistance,” the locals said.
 Meanwhile, senior Hurriyat leader and former resident of Dalgate, Shahid Ul Islam visited his native area to express sympathies with the affected families.
 On listening to the public woes, Islam was all fire. 
 “When the locals had pleaded before police station Ram Munshi Bagh to come for rescue, the cops shouldn’t have acted mute,” he lamented.
 “An hour is too long a time to react in case of fire.  The police should have performed its duties the way it actively does during law and order situation,” Islam said.
 “But in Kashmir, police reaction for public assistance is much like a Bollywood movie where the cops arrive only when the climax is over,” the Hurriyat leader said.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:00:00 IST