1,500 houses gutted in fire at Delhi slum
■ `25K compensation announced for affected families
Residents try to collect their belongings after a fire gutted several shanties at a slum in Tughlakabad area in New Delhi on Tuesday. Nearly 1,500 shanties were gutted in the fire, leaving hundreds of people homeless. No one was injured in the incident. The Delhi government has announced a compensation of `25,000 to every family affected by the major fire.
About 1,500 shanties were gutted in fire leaving hundreds of people homeless after a massive fire broke out in the slums of Southeast Delhi’s Tughlakabad area on late Monday night.
“The police and 28 fire engines reached the spot as soon as they received a call at around 12.50 am,” said a fire department official, adding that all occupants were rescued in time even as they were fast asleep. The fire was doused at around 3.40 am.
DCP (Southeast) Rajendra Prasad Meena said, “We received information about the fire at around 1.00 am at the slums in Tughlakabad. All police staff reached there immediately. It is being said that around 1,500 shanties caught fire.” He added, “Locals are saying that most people came out of their shanties after the fire broke out. The cooling process is underway and no casualty has been reported yet.”
In another incident, a major fire broke out in a three-storey shoe factory in northwest
Keshavpuram in the early hours of Tuesday. However, no loss of life was reported in both the incidents, Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officials said. The cause behind the two fires is yet to be ascertained, they said.
A call about the fire at the shoe factory was received at 8.34 am after which 23 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, said Atul Garg, Director of
DFS.
According to fire officials, the shoe factory consists of a basement, ground and three upper floors. The fire started from the ground floor of the building where machinery, manufacturing materials, including plastics were stored, they said.
The fire was brought under control within four hours with the help of around 50 fire fighters. However, two fire tenders are still stationed at the spot for the cooling process, which is currently underway.
During an online media briefing, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said that the Delhi government will give `25,000 as compensation to every family affected by the major fire in the jhuggi cluster late last night.