13 families rendered homeless as fire guts several structures in Khanabal

Locals demand compensation; DC Anantnag visits spot

Anantnag, Jan 09  : More than a dozen structures were gutted in a massive fire that broke out in Boat Colony area of Khanabal in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district late last night, officials said on Tuesday.

An official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the fire broke out last night at around 03:00 AM from one of the structures, which later spread to others, causing damage to the houses belonging to 13 families.

He said that soon after the incident, the fire tenders reached the spot to douse off the flames, however, by then, the houses had suffered extensive damage.

The official said that there was no loss of life reported in the incident.

According to locals, the damaged houses belong to Javid Ahmed Shaksaz, Abdul Gaffar Shaksaz, Mukhtar Ahmed Guroo, Baby Jan, Mohammed Ashraf Pushoo, Nisar Ahmed Guroo, Reyaz Ahmed Guroo, Muzaffar Ahmed, Mushtaq Ahmed Handoo, Mohammed Rafiq Shah, Mohammed Ashraf Wani, Sajad Ahmed Wani and Abdul Gani Wani,.

Meanwhile, locals urged the government to provide compensation to the affected families.

“In this harsh winter, the government should compensate the families and relocate them to safer places,” they said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Anantnag, Syed Fakhruddin Hamid visited the spot on and assured the families of full support from the district administration—(KNO)