30 houses gutted in a farm fire in Chitrakoot

Jhansi: Thirty houses were gutted in a devastating fire that occured on Saturday in a mahua orchard in Chitrakoot district. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

The incident occurred in village Bhadedu Bangra under Sardhua police station of the district. During daylight hours, a fire broke out in the village outskirts in a mahua orchard where harvesting of mahua flowers, commonly used in producing country liquor, was underway.

Senior police officials, including SP Chitrakoot Arun Kumar Singh, the district magistrate, and DIG range Rajesh S, reached the location along with eight fire tenders. ADG Prayagraj zone Bhanu Bhaskar also arrived to evaluate the situation.

According to ADG Bhaskar, the thatched dwellings were primarily utilised for storage purposes. The initial investigation revealed that after harvesting the mahua flowers, the farmers ignited the heap of residual leaves, resulting in the fire. A shift in wind direction caused the fire to spread to the dwellings, engulfing them in flames.

"Approximately eight fire tenders were deployed to extinguish the blaze. No fatalities were reported. The remaining damages are being evaluated," the ADG said.