Minister assures compensation to family of fire victims
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Minister Satish Jarkiholi, Asif Sait, MLA, and others at a visit to the site of the fire accident in Chavat galli in Belagavi on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: P.K. BADIGER
Satish Jarkiholi, district in-charge Minister, assured quick compensation to the Damone family. Four members of the family died in a fire accident in Belagavi on Tuesday.
The Minister visited the site of the tragedy in Chavhatagalli and consoled members of the family. He spoke to Sanjay Damone, the nephew of one of the deceased and sought details about the accident. He assured him that the State government would release compensation to the relatives and bear the cost of treatment of the injured.
The Minister also spoke to police and fire services officers who had put out the fire at night. To a question about whether the State government would act against HESCOM authorities whose negligence is suspected to have led to the fire, he said legal action would be initiated if a probe proved their involvement.
Mr. Jarkilohi said the meeting regarding the tragedy would be held at the Deputy Commissioner’s office. Discussions would cover compensation for loss of life, medical treatment for the injured, and other issues.
The State government would also explore long term solutions to the problem of housing for urban residents, the Minister said. “The government routinely distributes houses and sites to the people. Sometimes, however, people from poor and deprived sections of society do not get adequate allotment. We will try to reserve a portion of the allotment to deserving members of the SC/ST and OBC communities,” he said.
“Apart from the Department of Housing and various urban agencies, the Department of Public Works will also take up the distribution of houses and sites to the poor. We have plans to distribute around 50,000 housing sites in Belagavi district. We will try to fix a quota for the deprived communities in this,’’ he said.
“It is also true that sometimes, when the State government constructs houses, people are often reluctant to relocate to areas other than their old areas. Therefore, a final decision about shifting them would be taken after consulting officials,’’ he said.
Asif Sait, MLA, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan, Police Commissioner Prakash Nikam, Mayor Preeti Kamakar, and other officials and elected representatives were present.
Four members of the Damone family were burnt to death while two others were injured when their tin shed house caught fire. Based on a complaint by Sanjay Damone, the police registered a case of an accidental fire due to a short circuit or other reasons. Investigators now suspect that a gas-based compressor had exploded after a short circuit.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
