A massive fire broke out at a flower market in East Delhi's Gazipur area on Thursday night. The blaze incinerated around 150 jhuggis and rendered several hundred homeless.
No deaths were reported from the spot, though a labourer who sustained 30 percent burn injuries. Shopkeepers at the market have reported losses to the tune of several lakhs of rupees.
According to Delhi Fire Services (DFS), the fire broke out due to a short circuit. It was reported in the late hours of Thursday. Residents claimed that an exposed wire hanging from the electric pole fell on a temporary shed and soon spread to the nearby jhuggis.
With the fire's intensity increasing manifold, residents spotted it and rushed out of their homes. They then called the fire services, while trying to douse the fire by pouring buckets of waters onto it. Around 150 jhuggis were gutted in the fire. Many residents who work in the local flower market rued that their several months worth of savings were lost in the blaze.
The fire was completely doused in one hour. One labourer, Dinesh, sustained 30 percent burns and was rushed to Lal Bhadur Shahstri hospital, where he is receiving treatment.
DFS said that they rushed to the spot within half an hour after the fire was reported. "We received a call around 11.30 pm that a fire had broken out at the market. We analysed the threat level of the fire and accordingly deputed around thirteen fire tenders to the spot," said a senior DFS official. DFS also said that the narrow lanes of the slum cluster made it difficult for the fire tenders to reach the spot.