Two aged women die of asphyxiation

By Our Staff Correspondent

GULBARGA, APRIL 17. In a fire accident in a business-cum- residential complex in Gulbarga city on Tuesday, two aged women died of asphyxiation and a large quantity of textiles were reduced to ashes.

The complex is owned by a leading textile and automobile dealer, Sutrave family, and their cloth shop, Devanand Cloth and Saree Centre, which was destroyed in the fire, was one of the oldest in the city.

On Monday, the cloth shop received fresh stocks worth several lakhs of rupees to meet the demand of the marriage season. According to Sutrave family sources, about Rs. 5 lakhs in cash kept inside the shop was also lost in the fire.

Fifteen shops, furniture and material stored in them, and a vehicle parked inside the complex were damaged in the fire. Another 15 shops have suffered minor damage.

The victims, Ambabai (65) and Rukminibai (65), were related to the Sutrave family and had come from Wadi to attend a betrothal ceremony on Sunday. They were sleeping in a room on the second floor when the fire broke out. Both the women are suspected to have died of asphyxiation.

According to eye witnesses, the fire which was first noticed at about 2.30 a.m. in one of the shops in the ground floor, quickly spread to other shops engulfing the entire complex. Even before the fire tenders could arrive, policemen came to the spot and helped the people trapped in the first floor to escape.

Frightening sight

Mr. Baburao Jahagirdhar, an eye witness, told The Hindu that it was a frightening sight as the flames rose to about 45 feet. He said that but for the timely help rendered by the police personnel and the fire forces, the fire could have spread to other buildings causing more damage.

Three pillars of the business complex have collapsed, and in the ground and first floor several rooms have developed multiple cracks with the flooring and roofs giving away due to the intensity of the fire.

The Superintendent of Police, Mr. Alok Kumar, and the Additional Superintendent of Police, Dr. C. Rajappa, who were among the first to reach the spot, said that the damage was being assessed and the reason for the fire was being inquired into.

The KPTCL officials, who also visited the spot, said that the exact reason for the fire could be assessed only after a detailed inquiry.

Eye witnesses said that the fire might have been caused by electrical short circuit. Many parts in the city plunged into darkness on Monday night after the KPTCL disconnected power supply as a precautionary measure when the city had heavy rainfall. The fire was noticed immediately after the resumption of power supply, eye witnesses claimed.

The Sutrave family sources said that the two women could have been saved if the fire fighting personnel had brought with them oxygen masks, and ladders to reach the second floor.

The fire accident also revealed the shortcomings in the fire fighting force to deal with an emergency. One of the two fire tenders developed mechanical fault and could not reach the spot immediately.

They also did not possess ladders to rescue people on the second floor.

Police procured the fire tenders from Vasavadatta Cement Factory and Rajashree Cement Factory in Sedam taluk besides the fire tenders from Jewargi and Aland, to put out the fire.

Fire fighting personnel spraying water from canons to put out the fire which broke out in a business-cum-residential complex in Gulbarga city in the early hours of Tuesday.

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