Fire breaks out at Shastri Nagar slum near Bandra station, 2nd this month
The fire around 10:15 am in one of the hutments at Shastri Nagar slum (Picture Courtesy: Dinesh Sonawane)
Barely three weeks after a blaze gutted six hutments in the area, another major fire was reported at Bandra’s Shastri Nagar on Tuesday morning.
According to preliminary information, the fire broke out around 10:15 am in one of the hutments at Shastri Nagar slum, located behind Badi Masjid in Bandra East.
A thick cloud of smoke, emanating from the source of the fire, soon engulfed the area and was visible from a few kilometers.
Mumbai Fire Brigade was notified about the blaze at 10:24 am, following which four fire engines and four water tankers were pressed into service. Fire fighting is currently underway.
The fire is confined to the hutment and several household items, electric wiring & Installation, furniture etc have been destroyed in the blaze, an official said.
The slums are located perilously close to Bandra station premises and the tracks. However, the fire has not spread to the station and no suburban services were affected due to the blaze.
No casualties have been reported till now and further details are awaited.
Update (12:15 pm):
The fire spread to around 30 hutments before it was doused.
Two persons, Akhbar Shaikh (50) and Asif Mansuri (35), were injured and rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Their condition is stable.
The slum area is prone to fires, with several reported in the last few months.
In a previous instance on November 9, at least six hutments were destroyed after a similar blaze broke out in one of the houses. The fire was caused due to a short-circuit and did not result in any casualties.
Ten days before that, another massive blaze destroyed more than 50 shanties in Nargis Dutt Nagar slums at Bandra Reclamation.
