Arabian Times News Network
A massive fire broke out on April 15 at around 5:30 PM in 760 huts located in the Vikas Nagar area of Lucknow, the capital city, turning the entire locality into chaos and panic. According to local residents, the fire brigade was informed immediately after the blaze started, but no fire engine reached the spot until 7:30 PM. People said that by the time the fire brigade vehicles arrived, hundreds of huts had already been reduced to ashes.
Samajwadi Party MLA from the Lucknow Central Assembly constituency, Ravidas Mehrotra, reached the site and met the affected families. After speaking with the victims, he raised serious questions about the functioning of the administration. Ravidas Mehrotra said that the fire brigade office is only five minutes away from the location of the incident, yet the fire engines did not arrive for nearly two hours. He alleged that if relief operations had started on time, hundreds of huts could have been saved.
He also claimed that several people lost their lives in the tragedy, but the administration was trying to hide these deaths. According to him, after the fire, the affected families were not allowed to enter their huts throughout the night, preventing them from retrieving their belongings. When they were finally allowed to enter the next morning, they found that neither jewelry nor any useful household items remained.
The affected families said that their utensils, clothes, ration supplies, and other essential belongings were completely destroyed in the fire. The MLA further accused the administration of failing to arrange tents, food, or drinking water for the victims. Relief materials, food items, and other necessary resources were instead provided by the Samajwadi Party.
Ravidas Mehrotra demanded compensation of ₹1 crore for the families of those who lost their lives in the incident, and at least ₹25 lakh in financial assistance for those whose huts were destroyed. He also demanded permanent houses for all affected families or ownership rights at the same location. He said that the Samajwadi Party would fight for justice for the victims from the streets to the Assembly. Samajwadi Party spokesperson and child specialist Dr. Ashutosh Verma organized a free medical camp for the victims of the Tedhipulia fire tragedy.
On the instructions of Samajwadi Party National President and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, party leaders and workers have been actively engaged in relief work. Spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand, National President of the Women’s Wing Juhi Singh, National President of the Advocates’ Wing Krishna Kanhaiya Pal, Samajwadi leader Sharmila Maharaj, National Secretary of Samajwadi Lohia Vahini Pravesh Kumar Yadav, and State Vice President of Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha Shiv Shankar Lodhi visited the site and helped the victims by distributing clothes and food.
