J&K: Fire razes 166 houses, injures 100

Over 166 houses were destroyed and more than 100 people wounded in a devastating blaze in the meadowy Wadwan village in south Kashmir, nearly 200 km from Srinagar on Tuesday.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has directed massive relief and rehab exercise for the effected families and asked his ministerial colleagues Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed and Prem Sagar Aziz to visit the area on Wednesday for an on-the-spot assessment.

The ministers will be accompanied by a team of officers, including Director General of Police, Divisional Commissioner and Director Health Services besides a team of doctors and para-medical

staff. The state police is also dispatching 400 tents for the fire victims.

On the chief minister's instructions, the state administration requisitioned two MI-17 helicopters from the Air Force at Jammu in which, besides senior officers, 100 tents, 240 blankets, emergency medicines, 25 sleeping bags and teams of doctors and par-medical staff were flown to the fire-ravaged village.