600 homeless in separate slum fires in city
Separate fires at slums in the capital’s Adabor and Tejgaon areas damaged more than 130 shanties, leaving over 600 people homeless on Wednesday.
At least 80 families have been left homeless after a fire reportedly originated from electric short-circuit gutted their shanties at the slum located beside Tejgaon rail lines in the afternoon.
Thirteen fire fighter units rushed to the spot after the locals informed the fire fighters at about 4:30pm, the Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters’ duty officer inspector Mahmudul Haque said.
‘About 80 shanties were gutted. But no causalities were reported as the locals initially tried to douse the fire,’ said the Tejgaon Industrial Police inspector (operation and administration) Rasheduzzaman, adding that the incident left the dwellers homeless.
In Adabor, at least 300 people have been left homeless after the first fire swept through the slum early Wednesday.
Police and fire service officials said the slum near Dhaka Udyan completely damaged in the fire, originated around 1:30am at a shanty.
Around 50 shanties were gutted in the fire, leaving the dwellers homeless, said Adabor Police Station officer-in-charge Sheikh Shahinur Rahman.
Fire service control room official Palash Chandra Modok said the fire broke out from a kerosene lamp at a shanty at the slum. The fire spread soon on to other shanties.
Seven units of firefighters rushed to the spot and managed to put out flames after one and a half hour, he said.
No casualties were reported, Palash said.
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