Aman Zutshi
At least 5 shops were gutted in a major fire in Gowari area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district on Monday. There are no reports of anyone getting hurt in the incident.
The fire broke out early in the morning in a hotel which soon spread to the adjoining shops near the establishment at Gowari area in Gandoh block of Doda district.
Gowari residents and police personnel swung into action and started dousing the flames.
It took three hours for the fire department and locals to control the flames.
Before the arrival of the fire tenders, the native residents formed a human chain and fetched water from a nearby canal to extinguish the inferno.
The fire mishap has caused crores of financial loss to the victims who lost their properties.
The people also expressed anger against the local administration for only providing two vehicles to the fire department for emergency services in Gandoh.
An RTI filed by activist MM Shuja disclosed that during this six-year period, 486 people lost their lives, and 510 were injured in various fire incidents. Nine employees/firefighters also lost their lives while performing their duties, a Srinagar based news agency reported last month (2024)
The data further reveals that property worth 20,285.48 was involved in these fire accidents, of which property worth 1,362.38 was damaged, while property worth 18,929 was saved.
Breaking down the figures year by year, it was revealed that in 2018, the department received 5,314 calls reporting fire incidents, resulting in 104 fatalities and 99 injuries.
In 2019, there were 4,307 calls with 103 deaths and 105 injuries. In 2020, there were 4,072 calls, resulting in 86 deaths and 58 injuries.
In 2021, there were 4,277 calls, with 106 fatalities and 62 injuries. In 2022, there were 5,833 calls, leading to 68 deaths and 140 injuries.
However, the data from 2023 showed a slight improvement, with the lowest number of fatalities recorded in the past six years, with only 19 lives lost and 46 individuals injured, despite the department receiving 4,451 calls regarding fire incidents during that year.
