Two houses gutted in Jhabua's Samoi village; municipal fire engine breaks down on the way

Two houses caught fire at around 3 am on Tuesday in Mod Faliya of Samoi gram panchayat, in Ranapur tehsil of Jhabua district. The cause of the fire is not known. It spread so fast that both houses were completely reduced to ashes.

One large bullock, two young bullocks and two goats were burnt to death. Foodgrain, silver jewellery, cash, clothes, bedding and the rest of the household belongings kept in the houses were also destroyed. The affected families' homes and belongings were completely wiped out.

The fire engine of the Nagar Parishad (municipal council) arrived to put out the fire, but it stalled midway on the rough road because of a technical fault. Villagers had to struggle considerably to get it started again. Diesel also had to be arranged later.

The losses are as follows: Rakesh Chhitu Vasuniya Rs 2.50 lakh, Dilip Chhitu Vasuniya Rs 60,000, Dinesh Chhitu Vasuniya Rs 1.70 lakh, Samji Rupa Vasuniya Rs 1.80 lakh and Jangaliya Samji Vasuniya Rs 1.50 lakh.

A team from the administration reached the spot and prepared a panchnama. Congress leader Dinesh Vasuniya reached the village at night as soon as he heard of the incident and helped the villagers put out the fire. Zila Panchayat member Kamlesh Singad also arrived a little later. On Tuesday afternoon, Tehsildar Rajendra Chouhan, TI Shriram Mandloi and Patwari Kamal Jamod inspected the site, assessed the damage and drew up the panchnama.

Questions have been raised before about the working of the Nagar Parishad fire engine. When fire broke out in firecracker shops at Jobat Naka on November 12, 2023, the fire engine did not arrive in time. Angry residents went on a rampage, and the fire engine's driver was also injured in that incident.

Asked about the fire engine stalling on the way, Nagar Parishad CMO Sitaram Chouhan said the vehicle was in working condition and could not break down. When told that it had to be pushed to start because of problems with diesel and air, he said it was a machine and there must be dirt in the diesel. He also said the fire engine returned only after the fire was put out.