Blaze at Ghazipur engulfs 300 shanties

NEW DELHI: Nearly 300 shanties were reduced to ashes in a blaze near Ghazipur dairy farm along National Highway-24 leading to Ghaziabad on Monday evening.Twenty-seven fire tenders were sent in and it took an hour to put out the fire, which left more than 1,200 people staying in shanties without home. No casualties have been reported, however.Jamila Biwi, who was inside her shanty at that time, said, "I suddenly heard screams from neighbouring shanties. I came out and found shanties on the other end covered with thick smoke and flames. My kids were playing outside. I only managed to save the box containing cash and valuables," said Jamila, who didn't where to spend the winter night.Her neighbour Sarfaraz was not so lucky. "I was working at a nearby plant and couldn't salvage anything. My elder daughter saved the other children," said Sarfaraz, who lost Rs 9,000. Imran Khan, project coordinator of NGO Chintan, which helps shanty-dwellers, said the area has over 525 shanties occupied by about 2,500 migrant labourers, mainly from Bengal. "Most of our earnings come from selling scrap," said Safiulla, who has been staying here for two decades. Most inhabitants work for daily wages. "We received a call at 5.27pm and within seven to eight minutes, several fire engines arrived," said Bijay Bahadur Yadav, assistant divisional Fire officer. He said timely efforts saved the remaining shanties. "Most of them were made of polythene sheets and bamboos, which are inflammable. The flames were fanned by strong breeze," said another officer. Civil defence officials arranged relief for those affected, including hundreds of kids and even infants. They have chosen the premises of a temple to shelter them for the time being. Local politicians streamed in, and AAP volunteers were the first to arrive.