30 shanties destroyed in fire at Hisar

A fire broke out in the shanties located near Sectors 16-17 in Hisar on Friday afternoon. As many as 30 shanties were reduced to ashes. However, the residents remained unhurt in the mishap.

According to information, there are about 70 to 80 shanties located in the open ground along the bypass near Sectors 16-17. The residents said some children were burning firecrackers in the afternoon when a shanty caught fire. Soon, the blaze spread to other shanties and engulfed about 30 of these.

The residents raised an alarm and called the fire tenders. About 12 fire tenders were pressed into service immediately to douse the blaze. However, the residents from adjoining areas also rushed to help the inmates and rescued some children and women who could get stuck in the fire.

One of the migrant labourers, Paramjeet, said he had been living in this hut for about two years. He said he had gone to work and got information about the fire. “By the time I rushed back, all my belongings were gutted,” he said. The migrant labourer said he was scheduled to return to his home in Patna and had kept Rs 20,000 in the hut. Tulsi, another inmate, complained that all his savings and household items were reduced to ashes.

SHO, Civil Lines police station, Mahender Singh, who rushed with the police to the site said he received information that there was a fire in the huts. “On getting information, we immediately reached the spot and called the fire brigade. There is no loss of life in the mishap,” he said.

The Hisar MLA, Savitri Jindal, later reached the site in the jhuggi area and took stock of the situation. She assured all types of help to the fire-affected families.