Shimla, Nov 10 (PTI) A massive fire broke out in Jhanihar village of Banjar subdivision in Himachal's Kullu district on Monday, gutting 16 houses, officials said.
The houses have been completely damaged
besides cowsheds and two temple. While no loss of human life was reported, an animal died in the massive blaze.
The SDM, tehsildar along with other officials and disaster management teams were present on the spot.
According to the preliminary reports, the starting point of the fire was dry grass and directions to conduct a magisterial enquiry into the incident have been given to the tehsildar, the officials said
Losses are also being assessed, while relief material and interim relief is being distributed to the affected families.
The local MLA from Banjar assembly segment Surender Shourie said that 16 houses and four cowsheds have been completely burnt in the massive fire and appealed to the people to come forward and help in rehabilitating the villagers and re-building the village as winter is coming the village is situated in backward cold area.
Deena Nath, a villager, spotted the fire in dry grass near a house around 1.30 pm, the officials said.
He said that heavy winds were blowing and the fire spread so fast that people were not even able to take out their belongings from their houses. The fire spread rapidly as houses were constructed primarily of wood.
The village is remotely located at a distance of 15 kilometers from Banjar but it requires a 2-3 km pedestrian track to reach the village. Though the villagers started to douse the fire, their efforts were not sufficient and till the time fire tenders and administration reached, the flames had spread. PTI BPL NB
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