Inferno razes colony near Mata Sundari College

A major fire broke out in an unauthorised colony near Mata Sundari College here and around 25-30 houses were gutted in the early hours of Sunday.

The colony is located next to a timber market. It was reported that the market caught fire around 3.30 am, which soon spread inside the colony.

Several hundred families have been rendered homeless, though no casualty has been reported from the spot.

Around 25-30 houses perished in the fire after a series of cylinder blasts had rocked the colony.

The residents had claimed that around 7-8 such blasts took place.

Though no human lives were lost, many of the families had been preparing for the marriages of their respective sons and daughters and had saved up for in order to spend for the wedding. All their efforts turned to ash in a matter of a few hours.

The residents claimed that the fire started in the market after some timber material caught fire and soon spread to the colony.

"We were all sleeping at the time of the incident. Then, we heard a commotion and woke up and found that the colony was on fire. We immediately rushed out with our children and somehow managed to escape the flames," said Mohammad Sadiq, a resident.

The residents said that they had called the fire services, but they turned up almost an hour after the fire broke out.

In the meantime, many of the families had to undertake dangerous rescue operations on their own.

"I managed to save my children. Later, we all helped to locate the children who may have been trapped and rescued all of them. If the fire tenders would have reached on time, our houses could have been saved," said another resident of the colony Mohammad Irfan said.

However, for many women, the fire did not just rob them of their property. Their children also suffered major losses. For the past year, Kaneez Banu had been saving up for the marriages of two of her grandchildren. She had stocked up on several pieces of silver and gold, which perished in the fire.

"I had been working so hard to pay for my grandchildren's dowry. Barring my furniture, everything else was supposed to be gifted and the fire engulfed all of it," said a wailing Kaneez.

The residents have set up temporary tents and are contemplating their next move. "We want this colony to get a permanent status. The DDA has so far given 4-5 allotments. There are more than 400 families who are homeless now," said Wassiudin, another resident.