Fire in PG accommodation in northwest Delhi: Tenants still in shock

A girl staying at a paying guest accommodation in northwest Delhi where a fire incident took place on Wednesday, said she could not sleep the whole night after the horrifying incident.

Nidhi Kumari, a UPSC aspirant from Bihar, said she was at a library when the incident took place. She added that she has not gone back to the paying guest accommodation since the incident and does not know whether her belongings are safe or not.

''I was at a library when the fire broke out. One of my friends informed me about it. I rushed back and saw the building was engulfed in fire and thick smoke billowing out. Luckily, all the girls had managed to come out through an adjacent building,'' she said.

Nidhi said the paying guest accommodation has fire extinguishers but they do not know how to operate those.

''The girls have been shifted to other paying guest accommodations nearby. I could not sleep the whole night due to the incident. It was horrifying. The girls who were present there at the time of the incident had gone to the police station to get their statements registered,'' Nidhi said.

Suman Bishnoi, another UPSC aspirant from Rajasthan's Bikaner who lives at a nearby paying guest accommodation, said some girls came to their building to sleep at night. She said she was not present there at the time of the incident, but saw that the building was covered in black soot after the incident.

Thirty-five people, including a four-year-old girl, were rescued by firemen from the women's paying guest facility run from an apartment in northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar.

According to fire department officials, five people, including the girl, were taken to a hospital since they had inhaled fumes.

Abhinandan Kumar Singh, who attends coaching classes for the United Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination, said he has taken a flat on rent in the area as the rooms at the paying guest facilities are very small.

''I initially looked for a paying guest accommodation when I came to Delhi. The owners have made several small cabins on every floor to earn more money. I, along with my friends, took a flat on rent at Nehru Vihar, near Mukherjee Nagar,'' Singh said.

The fire officials said it seems the fire started from a metre board installed near the staircase of the building and spread to the upper floors. The building has a ground floor and three more storeys. It has only one staircase and a kitchen on the terrace.

A woman, who runs six-seven paying guest facilities in the area, said the main cause of the fire was air conditioners.

She said she ran a restaurant at Laxmi Nagar for 10 to 15 years. During the lockdown, she was forced to shut it down and come to Mukherjee Nagar.

''I have taken six-seven paying guest facilities in the area. We cook food for all the students at the terrace of one of the buildings. I have reduced the monthly rent from Rs 8,000 to Rs 6,000 and installed water coolers instead of air conditioners to save electricity and reduce the chances of a short circuit,'' the woman, who did not wish to be named, said.

The building where the fire broke out has been sealed by police. Around 20 to 30 paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the area. Barricades have also been placed.

The Delhi Police has booked the owner of the paying guest accommodation.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)