Over 40 houses gutted in fire at Kishtwar village

At least 40 houses were gutted in fire in mountainous Malwaran area in Warwan tehsil of Kishtwar district. The fire broke out on Monday afternoon and gutted the structures which were located close to each other.

As per the official statement by the district administration, the incident occurred at around 2.45 pm. The fire started in hay stored in a house in the densely populated area and spread to adjoining houses, mostly made of wood. The hay was stored by the house owner to feed the cattle in winter, the officials said.

Officials informed that as per initial information, 40 houses were damaged in the fire. Police personnel and local volunteers worked together to control the fast-spreading blaze but its intensity was such that it destroyed multiple buildings.

As the area is located in a far-off region, four fire tenders were sent from Kokernag in Anantnag district of Kashmir towards the incident site.

Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Kumar Shavan announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for affected families under the Red Cross relief. The administration made lodging arrangements for the affected families in nearby area.

Reports suggested that a mosque was damaged in the devastating fire. The administration also demolished few structures to stop the spread of the fire. However, there were no reports of loss of life till the report was filed. The efforts to douse the fire continued till late evening.

Senior officials of the administration including the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Dr Mohamed Ashraf rushed to the spot to take first-hand account of the damage. While the officials informed that there seems to be no foul-play behind the fire, an investigation has been initiated to know the cause of the fire incident.

The Warwan region of Kishtwar has an extremely tough topography with no proper connectivity with the region.