Bandipora, July 25: Three houses and six shops were gutted in a remote Kudhara village of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Tuesday.
Locals said the fire erupted in the wee hours on Tuesday, engulfing all the structures.
The three houses, which have been reduced to ashes, belonged to brothers Noor Hussain and Muneer Hussain, and their uncle Mushtaq Ahmad Khan.
The structure located near a known shrine in the village also had six shops, and as per the locals, all have been reduced to rubble.
These included medical and veterinary stores and departmental stores.
“The fire has affected the poor,” a local Panchayat member, Mushtaq Ahmad said.
He urged the authorities to compensate them at the earliest and rebuild their homes and businesses as soon as possible.
Usman Majid, a former minister, expressed grief over the incident and requested the authorities to make an estimate of the losses and help the affected.
Inam-ul-Haq Lone and other leaders affiliated with political parties also expressed grief over the incident and demanded relief for the affected families.
The cause of the fire has not been known yet, however, Tehsildar Bandipora, Tariq Ahmad said that revenue teams were dispatched to the village to estimate losses due to the fire.
