 Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 3: A massive fire fuelled by high-intensity winds gutted over 250 shacks of labourers in Maratha Mohalla near Jammu Railway Station, Trikuta Nagar Jammu and most of the residents escaped unhurt except few who got minor injuries.
As per details, nearly 150 shanties, including 41 of Rohingya refugees were gutted in a massive fire in Jammu in the early hours of Monday. Residents claimed that wind fuelled the flames and fire tenders were late in reaching the spot.
Eyewitnesses told that they saw flames rising from the area and at around 1.30 am and they woke up to the screams outside their shanties and before he could come to their senses, neighbours ran from danger to save side. The fire had engulfed the entire slum settlement at Maratha Basti.
Recalling the entire episode, a labourer, told that they came to know that the fire has spread in the entire settlement. The fire had started from the side of Rohingyas' huts and had spread across. Everyone was running. Women with their kids, men without vests and there was no time to gather and take anything along. Money, Clothes, utensils, food items, everything was reduced to ashes. Nothing was spared, not even money.
After three hours of hardship by the personnel of the Fire Brigade, who allegedly took time to reach the spot, the fire was doused.
As per the locals, the name Maratha Basti is attributed to the fact that migrant Marathi labourers were the first ones to move into this place, following which labourers from other states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal moved and the recent influx has been of the Rohingya migrants. This is the third fire that the settlement has witnessed in the last three years. |
