9 houses gutted at Nowhatta

Nine houses were gutted at Pandaan locality of Nowhatta in Downtown here at around 12:15 am on Sunday.

Two persons including a woman also received minor burn injuries into the incident.

   

Witnesses said the fire started from the house of Mohammad Amin and soon spread to other houses in congested locality of Pandaan Nowhatta.

“There was a short circuit on a street pole next to our house. At around 12:15 am, neighbors informed us about the massive blaze which engulfed our houses,” said Muhammad Rafiq, elder son of Mohammad Amin.

“It took the fire brigade almost 45 minutes to reach the spot which made it worse,” he claimed. Around eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot from Rainawari and Babadem fire stations to douse off the flames.

Locals said more than 15 families have been rendered homeless due to the blaze. 

The residents blamed the administration for not restoring the decades old fire station at Maharaj Gunj for delay in launching firefighting operation. “The old fire station is five minutes away from here and used to be vital during such incidents. But authorities have failed to restore it,” they said. 

“During this year, the congested area of Downtown witnessed many fire related incidents which could have easily been controlled had the fire station been functional”, said Tariq Ahmed, whose house was also damaged in the fire.

The affected families appealed the authorities for compensation given their weak financial background.

The locals also blamed the “casual approach” of fire department. “Fire tenders were not rushed to the spot on phone calls. We had to rush to fire station on a scooty. Ironically, the fire fighting operation was delayed as the pipes of fire tenders were leaking”, said a group of locals.

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