Srinagar: A mosque which also houses a religious seminary, few adjacent shops and a residential house were gutted in an incident of fire at Akilmir area of Khanyar in old city this morning.
Witnesses told ‘Kashmir Images’ that fire broke out from a mosque which also houses a religious seminary and ‘Baitulmal’ for the locality. They said the fire subsequently engulfed a few shops and a residential structure.
Locals said the shops and the residential house suffered substantial damage while the upper portion of the mosque was completely gutted. They blamed the Fire and Emergency department for the losses for allegedly being late to reach the spot.
“We tried our level best to bring the blaze under control but failed. We also informed the Fire and Emergency department for help; however the squad reached late and by then fire had caused extensive damage to several structures,” Showkat Ahmad, a local told ‘Kashmir Images’.
When contacted, Deputy Director, Fire and Emergency Services, Bashir Ahmad Shah said two men of the firefighting squad received injuries while dousing the flames. He identified the injured personnel as Mohamad Rafiq and Sajjad Ahmad.
Shah said some 12 fire-tenders were sent to the spot immediately after the information about the inferno.
“We had sent some twelve fire-tenders to the spot but faced difficulties to move the unit of apparatus to exact location due to the congestion in the area. However, after hectic efforts our squad managed to bring the fire under control,” Shah said.
He said the preliminary investigation suggested that it was an accidental fire; however, the actual cause of inferno is being ascertained.
