Baramulla, Jun 21: At least five shops were gutted in a fire incident in Sheeri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Tuesday afternoon.
The fire started from a bakery shop and soon spread to other shops in the area. The fire tenders from nearby fire and emergency services were rushed to the spot, who after hectic efforts doused the flames and brought fire under control.
An official said that the loss is estimated to be in lakhs as several food items stored on the first floor were reduced to ashes following the fire. “The loss is estimated in lakhs,” said an official. “The fire is believed to have caused due to short circuit,” added the official.
Meanwhile, local residents have urged the Baramulla district administration to allot few fire tenders for the area. They said the Narwav area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district comprises of scores of villages, however, in the absence of fire and emergency service office here, the blaze often inflicts huge loss.
“In recent months, several fire incidents of fire took place here in Narwav area,” said Muhammad Ashraf of Sheeri. “The non-availability of fire tenders results in huge loss to property. The authorities must arrange separate fire tenders for Narwav block which comprises of at least 35 villages so that property loss due to frequent fire incidents is minimised,” added Ashraf.