Fifteen slums gutted in massive fire at Gultekdi

Initially only few huts were gutted. But after two cylinders in the houses burst,the fire started spreading,Kondare said.

“My daughter-in-law was preparing food when she noticed the tin partition in my house getting very hot. She immediately took her eight-month-old son and pulled me out of the house,” said Gafoor Rehman Shaikh one of the residents. As soon as we came out,the cylinder inside the hut burst. The Dias Block area is very congested and has around 1,200 settlements within close proximity of each other. A scrap shop and a painting material godown were also damaged in the fire.

Meanwhile,the Pune Municipal Corporation has announced a financial help of Rs 5,000 each to the affected families.

A panel of Republican Party of India members,including corporator Dr Siddharth Dhende,said that the help came after they took up the matter with municipal commissioner Praveensinh Paredeshi.