Fire breaks out at slum cluster in Gurugram Sector 53, 300 shanties gutted
Gurugram: A fire broke out in a slum cluster near Banjara Market in Sector 53 on Friday morning, police said adding at least 300 families lost their homes after their shanties were gutted in the blaze. No casualties or burn injuries were reported.It took almost five hours to douse the fire, police said. The slum cluster had over 1,000 shanties and more than 1,500 people lived there. A majority of them worked in nearby areas and a few worked at the Banjara Market. The fire department and police said preliminary investigation revealed that the incident had taken place due to a gas leak in one of the slums and that had led to cylinder blasts, intensifying the blaze.Haryana fire services, deputy director (technical), Gulshan Kalra, who also holds the charge of deputy director (technical) of the fire station at Sector 29, said that the fire was reported from a slum close to the Banjara Market at about 10.40am and nine fire tenders with a total of 40 firefighters were dispatched to douse the fire. “The police control room had received a distress call and they informed us. Within a few minutes, we sent the fire tenders and the vehicles reached the spot in hardly 20 minutes. One block of huts was engulfed in flames as the fire had spread rapidly. It took us almost five hours to douse the fire and we saved nearly 800 huts,” he said.Iba Khatun, 29, who was at work in Sector 54 when the fire broke out, said the news of her destroyed home came as a devastating blow. “My employer asked me to retrieve my savings and documents from the hut, but by the time I reached, everything was reduced to ashes,” she said. Along with her savings, documents crucial for her livelihood were lost in the blaze.As the smoke cleared and the flames subsided, residents sifted through the charred remains of their homes hoping to save some belongings.Tabir Hussain, 28, a worker at the Banjara Market said he had kept aside money for constructing a house in his village in West Bengal but only to see his aspirations ruined. “Where will we go and who will fund the construction. The owner starts asking for rent the day we move into a hut, but now we are left with nothing,” he said.Teams from the district administration also reached the spot and assured swift action and assistance to the affected families.Deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav, said that arrangements for their food and stay had been managed. “We have announced measures to facilitate the documentation of losses and the provision of necessary aid to help the affected families recover. Two teams have been deployed at the spot to coordinate with the victims and to ensure they get all the support required,” he said.Kusum Sharma, a resident of Suncity Township in Sector 54, who reached the spot with other residents to help the victims said utensils, clothes, and even personal savings were consumed by the flames, leaving the affected families with nothing. “We have reached out to at least five NGOs to help in providing essential supplies such as food, water, and clothing. The police have initiated the process of documenting the details of those affected, while a comprehensive list of individuals whose huts were destroyed is being compiled. We have requested officials to make temporary arrangements for the affected families. We have communicated this urgency to all relevant agencies and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to expedite assistance efforts,” she said.
oustfire
Gurugram: A fire broke out in a slum cluster near Banjara Market in Sector 53 on Friday morning, police said adding at least 300 families lost their homes after their shanties were gutted in the blaze. No casualties or burn injuries were reported.
It took almost five hours to douse the fire, police said. The slum cluster had over 1,000 shanties and more than 1,500 people lived there. A majority of them worked in nearby areas and a few worked at the Banjara Market. The fire department and police said preliminary investigation revealed that the incident had taken place due to a gas leak in one of the slums and that had led to cylinder blasts, intensifying the blaze.
Haryana fire services, deputy director (technical), Gulshan Kalra, who also holds the charge of deputy director (technical) of the fire station at Sector 29, said that the fire was reported from a slum close to the Banjara Market at about 10.40am and nine fire tenders with a total of 40 firefighters were dispatched to douse the fire.
“The police control room had received a distress call and they informed us. Within a few minutes, we sent the fire tenders and the vehicles reached the spot in hardly 20 minutes. One block of huts was engulfed in flames as the fire had spread rapidly. It took us almost five hours to douse the fire and we saved nearly 800 huts,” he said.
Iba Khatun, 29, who was at work in Sector 54 when the fire broke out, said the news of her destroyed home came as a devastating blow. “My employer asked me to retrieve my savings and documents from the hut, but by the time I reached, everything was reduced to ashes,” she said. Along with her savings, documents crucial for her livelihood were lost in the blaze.
As the smoke cleared and the flames subsided, residents sifted through the charred remains of their homes hoping to save some belongings.
Tabir Hussain, 28, a worker at the Banjara Market said he had kept aside money for constructing a house in his village in West Bengal but only to see his aspirations ruined. “Where will we go and who will fund the construction. The owner starts asking for rent the day we move into a hut, but now we are left with nothing,” he said.
Teams from the district administration also reached the spot and assured swift action and assistance to the affected families.
Deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav, said that arrangements for their food and stay had been managed. “We have announced measures to facilitate the documentation of losses and the provision of necessary aid to help the affected families recover. Two teams have been deployed at the spot to coordinate with the victims and to ensure they get all the support required,” he said.
Kusum Sharma, a resident of Suncity Township in Sector 54, who reached the spot with other residents to help the victims said utensils, clothes, and even personal savings were consumed by the flames, leaving the affected families with nothing. “We have reached out to at least five NGOs to help in providing essential supplies such as food, water, and clothing. The police have initiated the process of documenting the details of those affected, while a comprehensive list of individuals whose huts were destroyed is being compiled. We have requested officials to make temporary arrangements for the affected families. We have communicated this urgency to all relevant agencies and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to expedite assistance efforts,” she said.
