Rupsa: A two-room dwelling of a family and valuables worth lakhs were reduced to ashes in a fire at Padhiaripur village under the Sinla police limits in Balasore district Tuesday.
Household items, electronic gadgets and a set of important documents were gutted. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Prima facie, it was suspected to be one of short-circuit. The victim was Bipin Kumar Barik. According to sources, the fire broke out in a room.
It soon engulfed the whole house. Locals made a bid but failed to douse the flames and alerted the fire brigade. Later, a fire tender team reached the village and brought the situation under control. Barik’s family has been rendered homeless.
Heavy rainfall compounded the family’s woes as they were without a roof. The family took shelter in a neigbhour’s house. Locals said Barik’s family is extremely poor and they deserved proper support/compensation from the government.
