5 houses gutted in Gurez fire

Bandipora:  Eight families became homesless as  five residential houses were gutted in a fire in Gurez Valley

Almost  89 sheep were charred to death. The incident occurred at  Gratnallah Village of Tulail along the LoC.

   

Fifty-one men and women including children from these families are in “dire need of help”, locals said criticising the administration for not reaching out for help till Tuesday afternoon.

“The fire started suddenly around 12 am, and it spread immediately to other houses,” Mohammad Sarwar Lone, a local said. He added that locals including the army joined  to help and prevented the fire from spreading further. He said that several families were affected due to the blaze.

Sarwar said that the families were left with nothing and needed immediate assistance like shelter, food and compensation.

Local activists blamed authorities for paying deaf ears and demanded immediate assistance for the families.

By afternoon on Tuesday, they alleged no assistance or an official from the administration had reached there.

“It is a heartbreaking incident, but what makes it more painful is that no official from the administration has reached here,” Nisar Ahamd Lone said. He added victims including women and children and old were resting under the open sky without any shelter while the cattle ran helter-skelter.

Lone requested the local administration to provide them with tents for immediate assistance to spend nights in a shelter. He also said assistance be given under housing schemes to help rebuild houses as quickly as possible.

The district administration and Tehsil administration are “least bothered and no one has come forward for any relief to these poor people, it is boils ones blood and the sight these men in this condition is terrible,” Mohammad Hamza Lone, another activist said. Political leaders Nazir Gurezi, Raja Aijaz Fakeer Khan and other political activists also demanded relief and compensation for the fire victims.

An official said that the aid was still to reach the remote village and that some officials from the Tehsil office were on way to the village. They said they were waiting for SDM and other relief material likely to arrive on Wednesday from District headquarters Bandipora.

An official Saleem Ahamd said five houses were gutted and nine families.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

3 + 3 =