LARKANA: Over 30 houses along with all household articles as well as belongings of their occupants were reduced to ashes by a fire that swept through Thariri Faiz Mohammad Narejo village near Dhamraho town, some 15 kilometres from Ratodero, on Saturday. The fire started from a pile of straws and spread to a vast area in the village.

Fifteen more houses were destroyed in two other fire incidents within the district.

Sources said that raging flames fanned by strong winds swiftly spread to the cluster of houses and completely destroyed more than 30 houses in Thariri Faiz Mohammad Narejo village. It took the fire brigade five hours to control the blaze, sources said.

Talking to Dawn, Abdul Jabbar Narejo, a resident of the village, suspected that somebody might have thrown a burning matchstick on the pile, which caught fire. The flames spread to houses within moments, he said.

All household items inside were totally destroyed, he said, adding that the fire had started at 11am and raged for hours.

Fire brigades from Naudero and Ratodero arrived first but that of Larkana, which is very close to the village, arrived late causing delay in coping with the emergency.

The affected villagers said they could hardly save their own lives. They pointed out that the losses they had suffered ran into millions,

Sitting under the open sky, the affected families appealed to the Sindh government for immediate assistance.

10 houses gutted in another village

In another incident, a fire broke out in Bhanbho Shaikh village located within the jurisdiction of the Ketti Mumtaz police station. At least 10 thatched houses and everything present inside and outside were destroyed.

Some of the affected villagers, Faiz Mohammed Shaikh, Buland Shaikh, Mehrab Narejo and Ali Gohar Narejo said that six goats were killed and grain stocks were destroyed the fire.

In yet another incident, a fire broke out in hedges in Nangar Sangi village and destroyed five houses. A resident of the village, Nizamuddin Langah, said that all household articles, cash and grain stocks were reduced to ashes by the fire, which was extinguished by villagers on a self-help basis.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2022