Hundreds of houses gutted in fire in Delhi’s Qutub Institutional Area

Three fire incidents were reported on Monday in the city, including one at an ashram of “godman” Chandraswami’s in south Delhi’s Qutub Institutional Area. However, no casualties were reported in the three mishaps, a Delhi fire department official said.

Hundreds of houses and shops were gutted in a major fire that broke out in a slum cluster in outer Delhi’s Mongolpuri area.

According to Delhi fire service, the fire was reported around 2 am and as many as 28 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire was doused around 7 am, after which a cooling operation was launched. The fire is believed to have originated from a plastic waste dump yard adjacent to the slum cluster at UT block in Mongolpuri, which is inhabited by around 300 families.

The situation turned worse when several LPG cylinders exploded after three re-fill shops inside the cluster went up in flames, said a police official. Inhabitants had evacuated the cluster but by the time fire tenders reached the spot, all houses and shops inside the cluster were gutted. The police are investigating the matter, the official added.

In the second incident, at around 3 pm, fire was reported from Chandraswami’s ashram, after which three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. It took more than an hour to douse the flames, a fire service official said. The fire, suspected to have originated from a short circuit, broke out on the third floor of the building.

In a separate incident, a fire broke out at a shoe factory in outer Delhi’s Narela industrial area around 2 pm.

The Delhi government has announced a compensation of Rs 25,000 for each household affected by the fire that broke out at a slum cluster in Mongolpuri area. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the fire-ravaged site during the day and met the families whose houses were gutted. He also urged AAP volunteers to assist the victims, which include a large number of children.

The compensation offered to the victims of such fires have been significantly enhanced to Rs 25,000, from the earlier amount of Rs 5,000 as per Kejriwal’s orders, a government official said.

Mr Kejriwal himself took to twitter after visiting the slum. “Yes I am doing politics, politics for people... Sharing their sadness,” he said.

Local MLA Rakhi Birla was also seen at the spot, arranging food and shelter for the residents.