50 shanties gutted in fire in Sector 66 in Gurugram

Upasna Singh, deputy commissioner of police (south), said preliminary investigation revealed there was no foul play and a team of officers was sent to the spot to make arrangements for the families whose huts were destroyed

50 shanties were gutted in a fire in the slums of Badshahpur in Sector 66 on Wednesday morning, but no casualties were reported in the area that has 400 hutments and more than 1,000 residents, said police officers.

A resident searches for her belongings after the fire was doused in Sector 66, Gurugram on Wednesday. (PTI)

The fire department received a call about the blaze at 10.12am. (PTI)

According to the fire department, the blaze could have started from an electric short-circuit, which could have led to cylinder blasts, thereby increasing the intensity of the fire.

The incident was reported from Badshahpur village at 10.12am and eight fire tenders from Sector 29, Udyog Vihar, Sohna and Sector 37 fire stations with 30 firefighters were dispatched to douse the fire.

“We and reached the spot 20 minutes after receiving the call. One lane of huts was engulfed in flames as the fire had spread rapidly. It took us almost two hours to douse the fire and we saved nearly 350 huts,” said Narender Singh Yadav, district fire officer, Gurugram.

Upasna Singh, deputy commissioner of police (south), said preliminary investigation revealed there was no foul play and a team of officers was sent to the spot to make arrangements for the families whose huts were destroyed. “The contractor and land owner were questioned but no case has been registered,” she said.

Many of the residents work as domestic helps and daily wage workers and shifted to the area a few years ago.

Firefighters douse the blaze on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Sunita Kumar, who works as a cook in Sector 66, said she returned after cooking breakfast at two apartments when the fire broke out. “I lost my bags and other valuables in the fire. I kept ₹30,000 at home to send to my village and now I am not left with a single penny,” she said.

Pratap Kumar, a daily wager worker, said he is left with only the clothes on his back. “I bought new clothes, a gas cylinder and utensils last week. All of it is burned in the fire,” he said.

People were seen sifting through the remains of their hutments on Wednesday. A few people said they kept money for constructing houses in their village, but all the cash has become ashes.

Police said many residents, mostly migrants working as domestic helps in sectors 65, 66 and Badshahpur, were at work when the fire broke out.

Police said the shanties were built on private land for which the residents have been paying rent to a local village resident.