A major portion of the skywalk to the east of Bandra railway station, including a portion of the foot over-bridge was gutted in the incident.
A major fire broke out in the slums adjoining the Bandra railway station (East) on Friday evening, destroying a majority of huts in Gareeb Nagar and Behrampada localities.
A major portion of the skywalk to the east of Bandra railway station, including a portion of the foot over-bridge was gutted in the incident.
Eyewitness reported that slum dwellers turned violent and started pelting stones while fire brigade officials were attempting to get the fire under control. No casualties were reported at the time of going to the press.
According to fire brigade officials, more than 30 fire engines and 10 water tankers had been pressed into service. However, given the enormity of the fire and the size of the area it has engulfed it would take a long time to get under control, they added. More than 1,000 huts are believed to have been destroyed. These include 250 huts that were erected only six months ago.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the police said that it first broke out in an area called Navpada in the Gareeb Nagar slums at around 8.22pm. It spread out fast. Major panic spread in the area after 10 cylinders exploded after coming in contact with the fire.
“There are several small garment factories inside the slums and most of the units are made of wood. This helped the fire spread dangerously,” said a police officer.
He added that the firefighters were finding it difficult to get the fire under control because they were unable to access the slums. “The slums are cluttered so close together that it is difficult to penetrate and reach the fire. Also, the fire engines are not able to go inside the slums because of the narrow lanes,” said a fire official who was on the spot. “Some of the huts are more than three-storeys high, making it very difficult to douse the fire,” remarked the official.
Angry residents complained that the fire engines reached late. Civic authorities said that this was because the fire engines got stuck in the jam caused on the highway due to the fire.
The restless crowds spilled on the adjoining railway tracks causing local trains on the Harbour Line and Western line to stop.
Late evening traffic towards Andheri and Borivali on the Western express highway was also affected.
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