Noida: Two children died and some people received minor burn injuries when a massive fire gutted around 150 shanties at Bahlolpur village in Noida Sector 63 on Sunday afternoon. Local residents claimed that the fire tenders reached the spot late. Govind, a resident, said that the incident took place around 1pm and the locals immediately informed police and the fire department. “They (fire tenders) reached the spot about 3pm. By that time everything was burnt down,” he said, adding that he lost goods and valuables worth ?3 lakh in the incident.

Arun Kumar, chief fire safety officer, said that it took some time to reach the spot due to narrow road. “We received the information at 2pm. There was no delay from our side,” he said. The fire department had engaged 17 fire tenders to douse the fire, the officer said, adding that the cause of fire is not known. According to police, two children -- Paro aged two years and Doll aged six years -- died in the incident.

Harish Chander, deputy commissioner of police, said it appears that the fire was caused due to short circuit or a cylinder blast. “The fire intensified due to hot weather conditions. Two children died and about 150 shanties were burnt. It appears they were sleeping and could not leave on time,” he said.Most of the victims are natives of Bihar. They are involved in scrap dealing, rickshaw pulling, and other smalltime jobs. Satish Kumar, a tailor who escaped narrowly, said, “I was taking a nap in the afternoon. There was a sudden noise and my children rushed in and informed that there was a fire in Birju’s shanty,” he said.

The shanty of Birju, a scrap dealer who is presently in Bihar, was locked, Satish said. “It appears that a short-circuit in Birju’s house led to the fire,” he said. Satish was living there on rent with his wife Kanti Devi and two children. Kusum Devi, another resident, said that Sharman’s two daughters died in the incident. “Sharman, a scrap dealer, is in Bihar while his wife is looking after their eight daughters. When the fire broke out, she managed to rescue six daughters while two were caught in the fire and died,” she said.

Some residents said there were about 500 shanties. A spot visit by HT showed the shanties were located on two plots divided by a five feet wall. The fire had damaged shanties on both sides. The plot was covered by residential societies on three sides while a road crosses on one side near Hanuman temple. Burnt stoves, beds, gas cylinders, utensils, scrap materials, among other things, were scattered around. Several cycle rickshaws parked in the area were also damaged. The DCP said that the UP government has announced ?4 lakh ex gratia for the deceased’s kin and also assured of setting up the shanties again. He further said that a total of 163 families have been identified whose shanties were gutted in the incident.

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