MANSEHRA: A hotel fire injured four people in Oghi Bazaar here on Wednesday.

The fire broke out in the kitchen of the Lucky Star Hotel due to a gas leak before engulfing the entire building.

Hotel owner Mohammad Yaqoob, employees Mohammad Aziz and Umar Khan and a customer suffered burns while trying to put out the blaze.

People shifted them to the civil hospital, but doctors referred them to the Ayub Medical Complex in Abbottabad.

However, their condition is out of danger, according to the doctors.

Members of the local traders’ body led by president Attaullah Tanoli extinguished the fire with water and shifted the injured to the hospital.

In another incident, a residential building of the Daryal basic health unit was gutted in a huge fire.

However, the cause of the fire wasn’t known.

Rescue 1122 workers put out the fire using fire tenders in around an hour.

They said the building was used to host training programmes for lady health workers. The workers said the records kept there were destroyed by the blaze.

However, no one was present inside the building at the time of the incident.

The police registered an FIR and began an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire.

ENCROACHMENTS: The tehsil municipal administration on Wednesday launched an anti-encroachment campaign in Oghi and adjoining areas to remove the illegal structures from the roadside.

“We’ll continue with this operation until encroachments are cleared from the city and its suburbs,” assistant commissioner Saleem Khan told reporters.

The TMA’s anti-encroachment squad, led by Mr Khan, shifted the seized goods, including handcarts, to the godown.

The assistant commissioner said roadside encroachments caused vehicles to get stuck in traffic on Toheed Road and other parts of the city.

“We have also warned traders against encroaching on footpaths because they hamper traffic,” he said.

The official said traders should cooperate with the administration in maintaining a smooth flow of traffic within the city and its outskirts. He said the removal of encroachments would increase commercial activities.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2024