By By our correspondent
Nearly 45 shanties in Sohrab Goth were destroyed in a fire on Thursday afternoon. However, 120 other shanties in the vicinity were saved, even though eyewitnesses claimed that the fire brigade came an hour after the complaint was recorded.
The fire, which began in one of the shanties located in Sikander Goth near Al-Asif Square, spread quickly and engulfed nearly 45 shanties. Fire officials claimed that they dispatched three fire tenders to the spot immediately after receiving the call at around 03:08 pm.
Fire Officer Mohammed Abrar said that when they reached the spot with three fire tenders, the fire was raging, and after negotiating the narrow passages, they managed to get four tenders to put water on the blaze. Abrar further said that due to the diligent work of the fire department, they had a potentially dangerous fire under control within 10 to 15 minutes; it took another 30 minutes to extinguish the fire completely, saving 120 other shanties.
Eyewitnesses claimed, however, that while the fire department had been informed immediately after the blaze erupted, the first fire tenders arrived almost an hour after the call. By the time the fire department reached the spot, the blaze had already burnt itself out, they said.
While no one was injured, those whose huts were burnt said that they had been preparing for the weddings of their daughters and all the dowry that they had collected was destroyed.
Noor Mohammad, who sells small toys and balloons, said that his daughter’s dowry was burnt to ashes. Another resident, Jetha, who is a fruit vendor, said that his six daughters were to be married soon and their dowry amounting to Rs0.2 million.