Locals said the fire started from the house of Dasharath Yadav and spread quickly, destroying 183 houses belonging to 74 families.CDO Yadav had reached the incident site along with SP Shashi Kumar Karmacharya, Local Development Officer Komal Prasad Dhamal, Chairman of Saptari chapter of Nepal Red Cross Society Jogendra Bhagat, and Constituent Assembly Member Umesh Kumar Yadav, among others. The fire victims told them, "We can live for a few days without food. What we need first is tents for shelter."
Immediately after their plea, Bhagat of the Red Cross and CDO Yadav, who also heads the District Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC), assured the victims of immediate relief.
"But their assurances were just lip service. We have been left to fend for ourselves," said Chhedi Yadav, a fire victim, adding, "We have been forced to live under the open sky. Our children have started falling sick due to scorching heat. But the authorities are in no hurry to provide us relief support."
Another victim, Lila Devi Yadav, said that many of the fire victims have been forced to go on empty stomachs for lack of any food relief from the local authorities.
"Many big people came and promised us relief, but they were just fake assurances. None of them took our plight seriously," she said.
Meanwhile, CDO Yadav said the DDRC could not provide immediate relief as they are still assessing the fire damage. "We are busy tallying the actual loss. We will provide relief only after a fuller picture emerges," he said.
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