Massive fire in Naag Chaap Jhopadpatti of Malegaon, Hundreds left homeless

Malegaon, 28 Oct 2018 [Fik/News Sources]: A massive fire erupted Saturday afternoon in Naag Chaap Jhopadpatti in Golden Nagar area of Malegaon in Nashik district of Maharashtra.

The fire started at around 05:00 in the afternoon soon spread to a vast area of the densely populated Naag Chaap Jhopadpatti near Malegaon Bada Qabristan.

The fire department under Malegaon Municipal Corporation said over two dozen fire tenders are busy dousing the fire. Fire tenders from the neighboring cities were also called to control the fire.

Thick and dense smoke can be seen engulfing the entire area just behind Yashfeen Children's Hospital and Al Azeez Hospital of Dr Suhail Ansari.

Hundreds of people, including a large number of women and children, were left homeless.They were seen rushing to safer places - empty handed and leaving behind their homes and all their belongings, after the fire broke out in the slum.

To seek divine help in the wake of the tragedy, which created panic among poor residents, Azaan were also called from local mosques.

There are no report of casualties or injured as of now. However, women and children left homeless are camping on the open ground and roads near Baqridi Masjid.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. However, unconfirmed reports said short-circuit or a gas cylinder blast could be the reason behind the tragic incident.

The fire in Naag Chaap Jhopadpatti of Malegaon broke out at the time when Malegaon Municipal Corporation is running a first of its kind drive to shift slum dwellers to the newly built housing colony under Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) in Malde area of the city.