Over 200 shacks gutted

The fire reportedly broke out after a boy lighted a lantern in his house. Soon,the straw roof of the house caught fire,which spread to the nearby shacks. A resident of the colony,Madhu,first saw the fire reaching the rooftop and raised an alarm.

Around 500 people,mostly women and children were present in the colony when the incident took place.

Seven fire tenders from Panchkula and two from Chandigarh were pressed into action to douse the flames. It took 30 firemen two hours to bring the fire under control.

According to a fire official,the fire did not spread beyond the slum area,as it was not windy.

“I reached home around 9 pm and saw that most of the houses were burning. The entire area was engulfed in smoke and everybody was rummaging for their belongings. My own shack is completely burnt and I have lost all my belongings,” Krishna Kumar,a rickshaw-puller,said.

No casualties were reported in the incident. But two people received minor burn injuries when they were trying to salvage their belongings. After the incident,blackened utensils,bicycles and other household items were strewn in the area.

Panchkula Deputy Commissioner Ashima Garg reached the spot and directed the Tehsildar to prepare a report about the damage.

She said the administration would release compensation only after an estimate of the loss was prepared. DSP Iqbal Kaur and local MLA D K Bansal also reached the spot.

The Mansa Devi Shrine Board has been asked to provide food to the homeless victims from their bhandara.