At least 36 cattle die in Ghaziabad cow shelter fire

The fire started at the shanties adjacent to Ahinsa Khand-2 in Indirapuram at around 1pm. The officials of the fire department said that they rushed 10 fire tenders after they received a call at 1.17pm

At least 36 cows at a ‘gaushala’ (cow shelter) located in Kanawani village near Indirapuram were burnt to death after a major fire from the nearby shanties spread to the cow shelter on Monday afternoon. Senior police and administrative officials rushed to the spot and the district magistrate also initiated an inquiry into the incident.

Firefighters douse the flames at a cow shelter in Kanawani village in Ghaziabad on Monday. (Sakib Ali/ HT)

The fire started at the shanties adjacent to Ahinsa Khand-2 in Indirapuram at around 1pm. The officials of the fire department said that they rushed 10 fire tenders after they received a call at 1.17pm.

“The fire spread very fast and soon the ‘gaushala’ was gutted. There were around 125 cows in the cow shelter. The fire engulfed the entire area where the cows were kept on leash and workers found it difficult to reach them amid the raging inferno. As a result, at least 36 cows have perished and two of them have suffered burn injuries during the incident,” said Sunil Kumar Singh, chief fire officer.

Singh said that about 100 shanties were also gutted during the incident but there were no fire related injuries.

“The residents of these shanties generally use 5kg LPG cylinders, which they procure locally. We have come to know that 12 such LPG cylinders exploded. We pressed into service 10 fire tenders and it took around an hour to douse the flames. The fire spread fast due to the prevalence of strong and dry winds,” Singh added.

The ‘gaushala’ is run by the Srikrishna Sewa Gaushala Trust. “There were over 100 cows in the shelter and the fire killed about 40 cows. We were able to rescue the rest and some have suffered burn injuries. We have spoken to the district administration officials and asked them to conduct a thorough inquiry and help us in rebuilding the shelter,” said Suraj Pandit, the caretaker of the ‘gaushala’ and the national president of the association.

Senior district officials also reached the spot after the incident. “I have asked officials to prepare a detailed report of the incident and highlight the source of the fire. They have also been asked to inquire in detail about the number of cows that died due to the fire,” said RK Singh, Ghaziabad district magistrate.