13 tents of deities destroyed in fire at Kullu Dasehra festival

Our Correspodent

Kullu, October 28

Thirteen tents of deities and five temporary stalls having goods were destroyed in a fire incident at the Kullu Dasehra festival ground early this morning. Two people suffered burn injuries while dousing the flames.

There was chaos as the fire broke out around 2 am at the ground opposite the court complex. The ‘devalus’ (volunteers) accompanying the deities managed to evacuate their palanquins seated in the temporary camp temples. A car parked outside the temporary camp also caught fire. A traditional orchestra, kitchen utensils and other belongings of the deities were burnt. A loss of about Rs 25 lakh has been estimated in the incident. Goods kept in five temporary stalls were also damaged.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire broke out after an explosion in a gas cylinder. The fire spread to other tents within no time though people sleeping inside the tents woke up and ran out to save their lives. Administration officials and ‘devalus’ managed to douse the fire though 13 tents of the deities and five stalls were burnt to ashes by that time.

Kullu DC Ashutosh Garg said that no loss of life had been reported in the incident. He added, “The police are trying to ascertain the cause of the fire. The total loss is being assessed.”

Kardar Sangh president Dot Ram Thakur said that this was the first such fire incident during the Dasehra festival. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sunder Singh Thakur said that a relief of Rs 25,000 each was provided to the affected people. He instructed the district administration to provide tents and other basic facilities to all affected people accompanying the deities. He also instructed the district administration officials to further strengthen the fire prevention apparatus.