Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: Three migrant workers — each the only earner in their families — lost their lives when their shanty burnt down on Tuesday in east Delhi’s Anand Vihar. The blaze, intensified by a gas cylinder explosion, trapped them inside. Only one worker managed to escape with minor injuries. Police suspect the fire started from a diesel oil lamp placed on a cooler stand to illuminate the shack.
Delhi Fire Service received a distress call around 2.22am. “When we reached the spot with three fire tenders, the shanty was up in flames,” said a fire officer. “The neighbours informed us that they learnt about the blaze when they heard the mini cylinder blast. We doused the fire around 2.50am and pulled out three people.”
DCP (Shahdara) Prashant Priya Gautam said the men were declared dead at the hospital due to burn injuries and asphyxiation . They were identified as Jagge, 30, and brothers Shyam Singh, 40, and Kanta Prasad, 37, all from Uttar Pradesh.
“Investigations established that four persons lived in the wood-and-bamboo shack with plastic sheeting for a roof,” said Gautam. “They placed a diesel lamp on a cooler stand to illuminate their tent before retiring around 11pm. The shanty’s entrance was secured with a padlock.”
Survivor Nitin Singh, 32, told police that Shyam Singh noticed the fire around 2am and attempted to unlock the door but faltered. But Nitin managed to tear the plastic sheet roofing and escaped.
Rampal, the 72-year-old father of Shyam Singh and Kanta Prasad mourned, “I have lost not one, but two sons. There is no hope left for the family.” He disclosed that the elder brother earned around Rs 15,000 a month, his income fluctuating with availability of work. Yet, every month, he managed to save a portion to send back home to his village in Auraiya district to enable his 21-year-old daughter to continue her education.
“My son knew the pain of not being able to study, so he wanted to give his daughter a chance and made sure no matter how much he needed for himself, there always was money for her studies,” the septuagenarian said. “He also has two other children aged 10 and 12 whose education too his income supported.”
Kanta Prasad had just fixed his daughter’s marriage a month ago. “He said he would save money for the celebrations, envisioning the moment he could fulfil his responsibility as a father. Ab woh sapna bhi adhura reh gaya (The dream remains unfulfilled),” Rampal grieved.
Machine operator Jagge’s brother, Rati Ram, despaired of what would happen to the family now. “His youngest daughter is only eight months old and his other two children are three and six years old. He has barely spent any time with his youngest daughter because as the only earning member of the family, he was very busy,” Ram said.
Jagge’s colleague Satender said, “I live nearby and learnt about the incident around 4.40am. By the time I reached the shack, his body had been sent to the hospital. I couldn’t save a friend with whom I have worked for a decade. Usually, we had dinner together.”
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the site and announced Rs 10 lakh each as compensation for the bereaved families. CM also offered them all help from Delhi govt. Gupta directed a comprehensive investigation into the incident to identify the cause of the fire so as to prevent such tragedies in the future.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s Section 106 (death due to negligence). Investigations are still going on to determine the exact cause of the blaze.
Mayank Rawat
