Darjeeling: A 69-year-old woman lost her life in a fire in Darjeeling. The fire broke out on Tuesday at Steinthal tea estate area, popular as Padri Kaman on the outskirts of the Darjeeling town, below the Darjeeling Correctional Home. With no vehicular roads and fire hydrants, local residents battled the fire using the water available in their houses.
The wooden house of Mahabir Rai, an ex-serviceman was razed to the ground with his wife Rukmini Rai losing her life. There were five persons present in the house at the time of the fire including Mahabir, Rukmini, their son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. “Me and my wife were sleeping in a room. It was around 2 am and I woke up asphyxiated. There was dense smoke all around us. It was pitch dark. I could not find the windows of the door. By sheer luck as I groped around my head banged on a window. I broke the window pane, undid the latch and pulled myself out. My wife had already passed out. I then started shouting for help,” stated Mahabir. His son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, who were present in another room, had by that time come out. “Seeing the fire we informed the fire brigade. However, the fire tenders could not reach the spot owing to the lack of vehicular roads. As there are no fire hydrants either, we got hold of whatever water we had in our homes and fought the fire with that. The fire engulfed Mahabir Rai’s old wooden house within two hours, and his wife Rukmini lost her life in the incident,” stated Biren Lama.
On Tuesday morning, the Panchayat members of Darjeeling 1 GP and BDO visited the spot and assured of all help and relief. Residents feel that the fire could have been caused by a short circuit or from a puja oil lamp. “There could be a rerun. The old roads have been encroached upon which does not allow the movement of traffic. We requested the officials to ensure that the roads are navigable, especially for emergency vehicles. We should also have fire hydrants,” added Lama.
“I have lost everything in the fire including documents. We could salvage nothing. Now I have no place to perform the last rites or mourn my dead wife,” lamented Mahabir Rai.