As many as 33 huts were gutted rendering 121 people homeless when fire broke at Jangala Colony in Kolamuru village panchayat of Rajamahendravaram Rural mandal in the early hours of Monday. No casualties were reported, as the alerted residents rescued the children and the aged. Fire tenders were pressed into service and the residents of the neighbouring villages joined the firefighting exercise. It took about two hours for the fire tenders to put out the fire.
The cause of fire, however, is not yet known. The fire personnel were suspecting that an electrical short-circuit in one of the huts might have caused the fire and it engulfed the entire residential area within know time due to the gale.
Home Minister N. Chinarajappa, along with Collector Kartikeya Misra and local MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary, visited the spot and interacted with the victims.
Immediate relief
Recalling that it was the second fire accident in a row in the same residential area, he said that permanent houses would be allotted the victims under the government housing scheme and asked the Collector to take steps by December.
He announced that an immediate relief of ₹8,000 per family along with 10 kg of rice and clothing would be distributed instantly. Towards the housing, Mr. Chinarajappa said the government would sanction ₹2.5 lakh per family. Mr. Butchaiah Chowdary announced that a water tanker would be built in the colony to supply drinking water to the households.
Officials and local elected representatives and leaders from different political parties visited the colony and interacted with the victims.