Gulzar Houz fire incident: State government announces Rs. 5 lakh ex gratia

The State government announced Rs.5 lakh ex gratia for families of 17 victims of the Gulzar Houz fire, caused by a short circuit

Hyderabad: The State government has announced an ex gratia of Rs.5 lakh each to the families of the victims in the Gulzar Houz fire accident.

This was after Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, along with Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, visited the families of the victims at the Osmania Hospital mortuary.

Expressing grief over the death of 17 people in the Gulzar Houz fire incident, Bhatti Vikramarka said the State government would release an ex gratia of Rs.5 lakh each to the families of the deceased. According to preliminary investigation, the fire appears to have been caused due a short circuit. The Fire Department rescued 17 trapped individuals and shifted them to the hospital. A total of 12 vehicles were deployed in the rescue operation, including 11 fire engines and one fire-fighting robot. The operation involved 17 fire officials and 70 personnel, who worked to control the spread of the fire, he said.

Later, the Deputy Chief Minister visited the mishap site at Gulzar Houz in the Old City. He said the fire personnel responded within three minutes. All departments acted in coordination. The Fire Department received a call about the incident at 6:17 AM, and by 6:20 AM, the firefighters began extinguishing the flames. Measures were taken to prevent the fire from spreading to other areas. Had it not been for this swift response, there could have been even more loss of life and property, he said.

“We will take all necessary steps to ensure such incidents do not recur at Gulzar Houz. A meeting will be conducted in two to three days to implement preventive measures against such incidents,” Bhatti Vikramarka said, adding that one firefighter had fallen seriously ill during the firefighting operation and was currently under treatment.