90 slum dwellings gutted in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH - Scores of people were rendered homeless when nearly 90 slum dwellings were gutted here Wednesday.

A fire department official said it took five fire engines over two hours to control the blaze that broke out in a slum in Sector 53, near furniture market.

“There has been no loss of life and we are investigating to ascertain the cause of fire. It would be too early to reach any conclusion but we think that electric short-circuit could be one of the reasons,” Chief Fire Officer P.K. Sharma told reporters here.

“Five fire engines were pressed into service and we successfully managed to prevent the flames from spreading to the neighbouring furniture market,” he added.