Cylinder blast fire leaves poor Dalit families homeless

Medak: As many as eight thatched houses were gutted to ashes due to the alleged explosion of gas cylinder in one of the houses in Rajpet village of Haveli Ghanapur mandal in the district on Monday midnight.

Four persons suffered burn injuries as the fire accident took place when the victims were fast asleep. The injured were shifted to local area hospital for treatment and the condition of one victim is said to be critical.

According to the victims, Ramulu, Sailu, Yesudas and Jogu Venkat- all Dalits, the huts caught fire between 12:00 and 12:30 hours on Monday midnight after a cylinder exploded in one of thatched houses. “We managed to escape from the blaze with burn injuries. Eight huts were burnt to ashes within an hour as no fire tender was available.

The cost of property damaged in the mishap amounted to Rs 6 to 7 lakh,” said the victims who were rendered homeless after the incident. They urged the government officials for the relief. Investigation is on to find out the exact reason behind the incident.