Thirteen houses gutted in Chamba fire

Thirteen houses were gutted when a fire broke out in the remote Upper Tarela village in the district.

Thirteen houses were gutted when a fire broke out in the remote Upper Tarela village in the district, but there was no report of any loss of life, a senior official said on Friday.

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About Rs 55 lakh worth of property were damaged due to the fire on Thursday, Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Churah Ashwani Shah said adding, nine families owning the houses were affected. An immediate relief of Rs 19,000 had been provided to the victims, he said.

A large quantity of medicinal herbs kept in these houses after extracting them from the timberline ranges situated on border of Chamba district and adjoining Jammu and Kashmir, besides the ration for the security forces, which was stored in these houses for the winter, had also been destroyed.