HYDERABAD, March 31: Members of a scheduled caste community blocked the Auto Bhan Road here on Tuesday after a massive fire gutted their huts, set up on army farmland.

The fire broke out at around 1.30 pm and engulfed all the 20 huts made of straw, destroying them completely and burning standing crops and two goats. People of the area rushed to the spot and started rescue operation. A fire tender also arrived there and extinguished the fire after two-hour long efforts.

According to an affected man, Soom Lal, nobody knew how the fire broke out. The affected families, demanding compensation, blocked the road as a result the vehicular traffic remained suspended for two hours.

The affected people included Madhu, Laung, Chota Laung, Diya, Mom Ji, Bijal, Nangar, Walyar, Raya, Mala, Veer Ji, Matto, Bhoora and Madli. Mr Lal said that the families were earlier settled in Machhi Goth and later shifted to the farmland of the Sindh Regimental Centre.

GUTKA: The Hyderabad Circuit Bench of the Sindh High Court here on Wednesday issued pre-admission notices to the Sindh health authorities after the manufacturing licences of mainpuri and gutka manufacturers were suspended by the health department.

The petition was jointly filed by manufacturers and sellers seeking renewal of their licenses, which had been suspended by the district health authorities. On an identical petition the court directed the district health authorities to collect samples from factories of the petitioners and other manufacturers in the presence of a magistrate, and get them examined from the laboratories of the Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Opinion

Editorial

Islamabad march
Updated 27 Nov, 2024

Islamabad march

WITH emotions running high, chaos closes in. As these words were being written, rumours and speculation were all...
Policing the internet
27 Nov, 2024

Policing the internet

IT is chilling to witness how Pakistan — a nation that embraced the freedoms of modern democracy, and the tech ...
Correcting sports priorities
27 Nov, 2024

Correcting sports priorities

IT has been a lingering battle that has cast a shadow over sports in Pakistan: who are the national sports...
Kurram ceasefire
Updated 26 Nov, 2024

Kurram ceasefire

DESPITE efforts by the KP government to bring about a ceasefire in Kurram tribal district, the bloodletting has...
Hollow victory
26 Nov, 2024

Hollow victory

THE conclusion of COP29 in Baku has left developing nations — struggling with the mounting costs of climate...
Infrastructure schemes
26 Nov, 2024

Infrastructure schemes

THE government’s decision to finance priority PSDP schemes on a three-year rolling basis is a significant step...