GUWAHATI, Mar 2 : Barely a fortnight after the Assam Police reserve blaze, another devastating fire broke out in the city's Madhabpur area, once again reducing bamboo houses to ashes and rendering at least 70 families homeless.
The fire started at around 2.15 pm and, within 20 minutes, engulfed more than 40 houses and damaged property worth lakhs. Though the cause of fire is still unknown, there were no reports of any casualty. Most of the houses belonged to people residing in rented accommodations.
Locals said the fire first broke out at a house belonging to Shankar Rajgar, close to Madhabpur market near Fatasil Ambari police station, and spread fast to other houses owing to the strong winds. "We first saw smoke billowing out of my neighbour's house. But before I could shift my articles to a safe place, the blaze spread to our quarters. Seven of our houses were burnt down and we could not save a single item," said Junali Singh, a housewife.
In the absence of a fire station in the greater Fatasil area, firefighters from Panbazar took about an hour to reach the spot, but not before most of the houses were razed to the ground. Locals alleged that despite repeated pleas, authorities failed to build a fire station in the Fatasil Ambari area. "The Fatasil area is expanding fast and there are hundreds of congested lanes and houses vulnerable to a fire tragedy. Even though we informed the fire brigade instantly, firefighters from Panbazar took about an hour to reach the spot. Our area badly needs a fire station," said a local shopkeeper.
Police said 10 fire tenders from fire stations at Panbazar, Dispur, Chandmari and Noonmati rushed to the spot and doused the flames, thereby stopping the fire from spreading to other houses. "It could have been more devastating if the fire continued for ten more minutes. As the area is congested and the market area is very close, things could have been more dangerous," said a police officer.
Police and firefighters complained about narrow, congested lanes leading up to the houses, which made access near impossible. They also said the area lacked basic precautionary measures. This is the third major fire incident in the last two weeks.
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