KHOTANG, Nov 28: Incidents of fire have been consistently increasing in Khotang during the ongoing dry season. Such incidents have posed huge threat to life and destroyed properties worth millions of rupees.
On Sunday, fire destroyed houses of Kailash Rai and Harka Rai of Tuwachung Municipality-5. But locals were able to prevent four nearby houses from catching fire.
Likewise, Bir Bahadur Raut of Barahapokhari Rural Municipality-4 also lost his house to fire on November 13. These are only some of the representative cases. The extent of fire incidents is much greater during the dry season.
Most of these incidents happen after monsoon and during the winter season. With the end of the monsoon, fire incidents have been recorded in dozens of places of the district.
Koshi Province reports 488 fire incidents in three months
On November 9, fire broke out at Ratnapark of Diktel in Majhuwagahdi Municipality-1 burning dozens of adjoining houses. The incident displaced hundreds of locals and destroyed properties worth millions of rupees, police said.
Majority of fire incidents have reportedly occurred due to the failure of people to douse the fire lit for keeping them warm during winter.
Concerned authorities have urged the locals to remain alertn while huddling around fireplace and ensure that the fire is properly doused after its use.
“People are not careful when lighting fire for warmth, which is one of the main reasons of increased fire incidents during winter,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Raj Kumar KC of District Police Office (DPO), Khotang.
According to him, being careful and alert could have prevented lots of fire incidents.
“The dry season still continues. People should be aware about causes of fire incidents in order to minimize it,” added DSP KC.
From November 5 to November 13, six houses in the district caught fire. Such incidents also destroyed crops, clothes, kitchen utensils along with other valuables worth millions of rupees.
