Srinagar, Dec 27: At least three multi-story houses, one double-storey house, and other structures were destroyed by a midnight fire in the Kurache Mohalla Dalgate area of Srinagar on an intervening night ofMonday and Tuesday.
The locals of the area told Rising Kashmir that the massive fire engulfed the locality at midnight and quickly spread to nearby houses.
They said that soon after the incident, the locals in the vicinity swung into action and were joined by the fire and emergency department officials.
“Until the fire was brought under control, as many as six houses were gutted, resulting in property worth millions being reduced to ashes,” locals said.
Confirming the fire incident, an official from the fire and emergency services told Rising Kashmir that four double-story houses were destroyed in the incident, which occurred shortly after receiving a call from the area. They tasked firefighters and emergency personnel with the task. Till the fire was brought under control,” the officer said, “four houses suffered damage.”
The officer identified the affected house owners as, Ghulam Qadir Matta, Farooq Ahmad Matta, Mudasir Ahmad Matta, Ghulam Mohammad Matta, Tabassum Mehnaz, Farooq Ahmad, Zahoor Ahmad Dar, and Abdul Rashid Dar.
He, however, said that no one was hurt in the incident and added that the cause of the fire was a short circuit.
It is important to note that Srinagar city is witnessing a steep rise in fire incidents; nearly 400 structures were gutted in fire-related incidents this year. Also, several people were killed, and dozens suffered burn injuries.
The fire officials are labelling people’s negligence as the reason behind the rise in fire incidents in Srinagar city. A senior official from the fire and emergency department told Rising Kashmir on condition of anonymity that people are leaving their heaters and boilers on during the night, and due to extreme heat, the electrical wires are catching fire, which slowly spreads to the whole house and gradually spreads to nearby houses.
Given the rise of fire incidents in Srinagar, the police have recently appealed to the general public to avoid the use of unregistered heating gadgets, which according to the police is the reason behind the rise of fire incidents in the city.
The police also stated that action will be taken against shopkeepers selling unregistered heating appliances. Also, police launched drives in markets to curb the sale of unregistered appliances in Srinagar city.
