Four poor families living beside the railway line in Kumarkhali were left homeless after a fire gutted their tin-shed houses late Friday night, destroying homes, livestock and means of livelihood.
“I will not lie. After my two sons died, people gave me clothes, blankets, sarees and a bed. Everything has burned. Now I have nothing left. If only I could put up a few tin sheets, I could stay somewhere with my grandson,” said Zahura Khatun, an elderly woman, breaking down in tears on Saturday afternoon.
Zahura, the widow of Kiamuddin Sheikh, lived in the Sherkandi area of Ward No. 6 under Kumarkhali municipality along the Kushtia-Rajbari railway line.
Her tin-shed house caught fire late Friday night, burning the house and all belongings to ashes.
Her elder son died 20 years ago and her younger son 3 years ago.
She had been living there with her grandson Anwar Hossain, 27.
Besides Zahura, the fire destroyed three other tin-shed houses belonging to her van puller nephew Kamal Hossain, his son Hridoy Hossain, 22, also a van puller, and their neighbour Nazim Uddin.
Four tin-shed houses belonging to four people, two battery-operated vans, four goats, nine ducks, 35 chickens, and all household furniture and belongings were completely destroyed by the fire.
Preliminary estimates suggest the blaze, believed to have started from an electrical short circuit, caused losses of at least Tk 8 lakh for the four families.
Visiting the spot at around 4:30 pm, this correspondent saw several densely built houses along the railway line reduced to ashes. Parts of two burned vans lay scattered.
Only brick and cement pillars remained standing.
Even hours later, the smell of burning lingered in the air as smoke continued to rise.
Curious locals and relatives gathered at the scene.
Nazim Uddin said he woke up around 2:30 am after smelling smoke.
“As soon as I opened the door, fire entered my house. I rushed out with my battery-run van wearing only the clothes I had on. Within moments, the entire house was engulfed,” he said, adding that the fire appeared to have started from the room where Hridoy’s van was being charged.
Hridoy Hossain said he went to sleep around 1:00 am after checking his two vans and four goats.
“About an hour later, I woke up hearing shouts of fire. When I came out, flames were everywhere,” he said.
“Locals tried to put out the fire by pouring water and informed the fire service.After nearly an hour of effort, the fire was brought under control. By then, two vans, four goats, nine ducks, 35 chickens, two houses and all belongings had been destroyed,” he added.
Neighbour Saju Sheikh alleged that despite efforts by 50 to 60 people, the fire could not be controlled before the fire service arrived.
“Although the station is only two to three minutes away, it took at least 45 minutes for the fire service to reach here. That is why everything burned,” he said, adding that without government support the families would not be able to recover.
Kamal Hossain’s wife Moyna Khatun said, “We have nothing left except the clothes we are wearing. Everything has burned. Only the pillars are standing. We seek government assistance.”
However, Kumarkhali Fire Service team leader Ali Hossain denied the delay allegation.
He claimed they received the call through 999 at around 3:00 am and reached the spot by 3:03 am.
“After about an hour of effort, the fire was brought under control. By then, everything belonging to the four families had been burned,” he said, adding that the cause of the fire and the exact amount of damage would be known after investigation.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Farzana Akhter said winter clothes and dry food were provided immediately after receiving the news.
“Further government assistance will be provided to the families upon submission of a written application, subject to allocation approval.,” she said.