More than 500 houses in Tharparkar were reduced to ashes on Wednesday when fire broke out in Vikaryo village near Islamkot town of the district.

The fire broke out reportedly due to a short circuit and engulfed a thatched house. Due to strong wind, the fire spread quickly and within no time more than 500 thatched and cemented houses were reduces to ashes. Some seven people were injured in the incident while more than 100 cattle were killed.

An eyewitness Ahmed told Dawn that they could only ran out of houses to save their lives, but could not save their livestock and goods, including ornaments, stocks of fodder, food, dower, cloths as it all turned into heap of ashes in front of their eyes.

It is learnt that fire-brigade took around two hours to reach the village, people kept on trying to extinguish the fire on their own by throwing jars of water and sand on it, but despite their efforts more than 500 houses out of 700 were reduced to ashes.

Villagers told this scribe that this is 10th such incident this year, on an average around 300 houses were burned in each incident, but government has no immediate solution to this problem so far.

No bureaucrat or elected representative, except for MPA Sher Muhammad Bilalani of PPP, visited the affected village.

The affectees were forced to spend night under the open sky and appealed the government and welfare departments to help them in building shelter for themselves, start relief activities and rehabilitate them.