Bhadrak/Dhamnagar, Jan 20: A major fire broke out at Khadimahara village under Dhamnagar block in Bhadrak Friday night, rendering 23 families homeless and charring 29 goats and five heads of cattle to death. Properties worth lakhs of rupees were gutted.
Reports said there was an electric short circuit from a service wire passing over a cattle shed at Bharatisahi Friday midnight. In chilly weather when all were asleep, fire had engulfed several houses. They raised an alarm and others rushed out of their houses along with children. The villagers, however, failed to douse the raging fire on rooftops.
They had alerted the fire brigade in time, but the latter turned up one and a half hours late. By then, 78 rooms of 23 families were reduced to ashes. 29 goats and five cattle heads were charred in the blaze. Three cattle were critically burnt too.
All the belongings – rice, TV sets, paddy, clothes and valuable assets, a motorcycle– of the 23 families, were burnt to ashes.
However, the fire brigade doused the fire and prevented it from spreading to other houses.
The villagers who were rendered homeless are Bishumohan Bharati, Bhagwan Bharati, Bipin Bharati, Baikuntha Bharati, Bimala Bharati, Bailochan Bharati, Devendra Bharati, Mahendra Bharati, Rabindra Bharati, Binod Bharati, Debasish Aran, Ashutosh Aran, Sudarshan Bharati, Narayan Bharati and Murali Bharati.
Tehsildar Charls Nayak rushed to the place and provided Rs 3800 and polythene sheets to each fire-hit family. Local MLA Muktikant Mandal made provision of cooked food for the fire victims for five days.
Block chairperson of Dhamnagar provided blankets, sarees and dresses for the children.
Villagers expressed unhappiness over delayed response of the fire brigade of Dahmanaghar. They demanded that the government set up a fire station at Dhusuri. PNN
