DADU: Grieving parents and relatives of the victims of a massive blaze that claimed lives of nine children in Faiz Mohammad Daryani Chandio village a day before have demanded thorough inquiry into the causes that led to the tragedy and action against those who are found responsible for the incident.

Imamuddin Chandio, whose four children, More, 16; Rasheed, 10; Alam, 9, and Nargis, 4, died in the fire demanded thorough probe and said the mud-thatched houses of his three brothers and cousins stood adjacent to each other. When the fire broke out it engulfed all the houses within no time and the flames were so intense they could not go back into the rooms to save the children, he said.

He said that he could only catch hold of his four year daughter Nargis, leaving behind the three children who were swallowed by fire. A total of nine children died, 20 people were injured, 200 animals and 70 mud-thatched houses, stocked grain and other household items were reduced to ashes, he said.

Ms Khatoon Chandio, sister of Imamuddin, called for impartial inquiry into the incident and said that she picked two girls sleeping on charpoy when she saw flames enveloping them.

Akram Chandio, father of deceased Zaman, said that no ambulance or fire brigade came to their help even after they repeatedly called officers concerned of the Dadu district administration and Mehar taluka municipal administration for help.

Mehar was 35 kilometers from the village, Khairpur Nathan Shah was at a distance of 50 kms and Dadu was 70 kms from the village but no fire brigade from any town came to their rescue, he said.

Rustam Chandio, father of five-year-old fire victim Tahmina, said that they had always cast votes for PPP but elected representative had turned their backs on them in their time of need.

Bahar Khan, who lost three children to the fire, said that he did not need tents and ration, he just wanted impartial inquiry into the incident and punishment for the responsible persons and departments.

Sindh CM announces compensation

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah visited the fire-hit Faiz Mohammad Daryani Chandio village on Wednesday and said that inquiry would be conducted into the fire incident and responsible persons would be punished.

He also announced Rs500,000 compensation each for heirs of the fire victims and Rs200,000 each for the injured.

The CM told journalists after offering condolences to the aggrieved families that the destroyed village would be rehabilitated completely. Compensation for the perished animals would be announced after conducting survey, he said.

Mehar fire tender was out of order, says DC

Dadu Deputy Comm­issioner Samiullah Nisar Shaikh said that preliminary investigation found the fire brigade of Mehar taluka was out of order and in need of repairs when it was required to put out the massive blaze.

He said that he had issued directives to TMAs of Dadu and Larkana to send the fire brigades to fire hit villages. Strong winds caused a number of trees to fall at different places along Mehar-Fareedabad link road and delayed arrival of the fire brigade in the fire hit Faiz Mohammad Daryani Chandio village a day ago, he said.

He said that a survey conducted by district administration found that 55 mud-thatched houses were burnt down and 110 families were affected by the fire. The district administration had begun supplying cooked food to affected villagers, he said.

He said that tents, kitchen items, folding beds and water coolers were supplied by both district and provincial governments to the affected villagers. A report would be sent to the Sindh government recommending compensation for the victims’ heirs, he said.

Relief goods reach fire-hit villages

Provincial Disaster Mana­ge­ment Authority’s director general Syed Slaman Shah said that 500 tents, 1,500 blankets, 1,000 folding beds, 1,000 pillows, 900 bed sheets, 1,000 mosquito nets, 500 Jerry cans, 500 water coolers, 400 mattress and 500 kitchen sets had been sent to the fire-affected villages.

Meanwhile, officials of Rangers along with officials of revenue department distributed relief goods among affected families in Faiz Mohammad Daryani Chandio village.

Fire victims buried

The dead bodies of the fire victims More, 16, Rasheed, 10, Alam, 9, Nargis, 4, Zaman, 10, Abdul Rasool, 13, Hussain, 5, Saweera, 10, and Tahmina, 5, were brought to the village from Mehar taluka hospital and buried at local graveyard in the village near Fareedabad town after funeral prayers. Fareedabad town remained closed as mark of mourning over the tragedy.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2022