50 shanties gutted & cows charred to death in Gzb fire

Ghaziabad: Over three dozen cows were charred to death and more than 50 shanties were gutted in flames after a massive fire broke out in slums in Kanawani area of Indirapuram in Ghaziabad on Monday afternoon.

The fire got triggered from a scrap godown located in the slums. In no time, the flames spread to over 50 shanties in the area, including the cowshed (gaushala), which was located adjacent to the slums. Nearly 100 cows were inside the cowshed at the time of incident.

According to fire officials, the information was conveyed around 1 pm and fire teams rushed to the spot. "Initially we sent two fire tenders but the fire was so massive that more fire brigades were called and it took nearly two hours for 13 fire tenders to completely douse the flames," Sunil Kumar Singh, Chief Fire Officer of Ghaziabad said.

The fire completely spread into the cowshed which was running under the name Shri Krishna Seva Gaushala Trust. The slum dwelling which had nearly 100 shanties is home for the people who collect scrap and waste material. These people have been living in the cluster for nearly last two years.

"There was a scrap godown in the slums where these people collect the scrap and store. A fire broke out in the scrap godown which quickly spread as there were some inflammable items inside the godown. The flames covered the slums and spread into the cowshed which was covered with plastic and clothes. The cows were tied and couldn't managed to escape," Singh said while adding that they are still investigating to ascertain the actual reason behind the fire.

Suraj Pandit, national president of Shri Krishna Seva Gaushala Trust said that they have been running the gaushala for over last three years. Along with the cows, two people were also present to take care of these cows. "Around 1.15 pm, I got the information about the incident and immediately I told the staff of the cowshed to free the cows. The caretaker of the gaushala had saved the lives of 50 cows. But he failed to free around 40 cows, out of which 38 cows died in fire and others escaped with minor burn injuries," Suraj said.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and directed officials to provide all possible help within 24 hours.