School building gutted in Kulgam fire incident

Kulgam, Nov 19: A government middle school in Samnoo village of Kulgam district was gutted in a fire incident, causing significant damage to school infrastructure and materials, officials said on Sunday.
A Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) official stated that teams from Manzgam and D.H. Pora rushed to Samnoo, Kulgam, after receiving a call at 6:55 PM.
The official added that the fire brigade arrived at the scene at 8:05 PM and found a single-story, tin-roofed, government boys’ middle school engulfed in flames. The fire was brought under control.
An official said that the school lacked complete fencing on all sides, leaving it vulnerable. “The structure, renovated just a year ago, housed kindergarten and other students and contained learning materials tailored to their needs. Unfortunately, the building has been completely destroyed,” he added.
“We have a new building with four rooms adjacent to the gutted one, but we have eight classes to accommodate. Managing them in such a cramped space will be challenging,” the official said.
A local teacher told Rising Kashmir that the school has an enrollment of 70 students. “We used to teach half of the classes in the now-gutted building. Currently, all nine classes, including kindergarten, are being squeezed into four rooms, one of which also serves as the office,” he said.
The teacher estimated losses at around lakhs, including furniture, learning materials for kindergarten, an old stock of items, and a washroom with its water tank. “The three-room building was completely destroyed in the fire,” he added.
While the cause of the fire remains unknown, the school authorities have reported the incident to the local police station and the Department of Education for further action.