BHADERWAH/JAMMU: Four houses were gutted in a massive fire that broke out in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, officials said on Wednesday.
No casualty was reported in the incident, they said.
The incident occurred at Karal Mohalla in Puneja village of Bhaderwah town, they said, adding that the houses that were damaged in the blaze belonged to Raj Mohammad, Abdul Shakoor, Abdul Qayoom and Jaan Mohammad.
Fire tenders could not reach the village immediately as the affected locality is located around one kilometre uphill from the nearest motorable road, though Puneja village is about 7 kilometres from Bhaderwah town, they said.
Supervising the operation, Bhaderwah SDPO Naveed Qazi said that the fire was brought under control despite the difficult terrain.
Locals, along with police personnel and fire service teams, managed to control the rapidly spreading blaze, but by then four houses were completely damaged.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, according to the officials.
Residents alleged that the damage could have been minimised had there been a motorable road to the village, which has a population of around 1,500.
“I noticed flames coming from the top floor and strong winds caused the fire to spread to adjoining houses. Fire tenders were informed immediately, but it took them nearly an hour to trek up the hill,” eyewitness Mohammad Iqbal said.
Another resident, Durga Devi, said the lack of basic infrastructure had aggravated the loss, alleging that repeated assurances for a road to the village had remained unfulfilled. (PTI)