During today's State Assembly session, Maharashtra's Chief Minister Eknath Shinde declared that an ex-gratia payment of ₹ 50,000 would be provided to families who lost their homes in the fire that occurred last week in the Appapada slums of Mumbai's Malad area.
𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲
Officials reported that on March 13, a fire broke out in the Anand Nagar slum located in Appa pada, Malad East, engulfing nearly 1,000 houses and resulting in the loss of one life. Rescue operations continued until late at night, while firefighters faced difficulties accessing the forestland where the fire started due to narrow lanes.
In the late afternoon, residents of the slum located in close proximity to a forestland heard multiple cylinder explosions, prompting them to evacuate their homes. By 7 pm, the fire brigade had managed to control the fire and commenced cooling operations.
At approximately 4:45 pm, the fire was reported; however, the fire brigade encountered challenges reaching the location due to narrow lanes and the area's geography. At 5:15 pm, officials declared the fire a level-three emergency, and additional fire engines were promptly dispatched to the scene.
𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗺𝘀
The fire in Malad's Appa Pada slum cluster was raised as an issue in the Maharashtra Assembly on the very next day, with the state government assuring that the slum dwellers who lost their houses will receive financial aid from the Chief Minister's relief fund. Meanwhile, members of all parties demanded the process of assistance be expedited as those affected lost everything in the fire.
Local MLA Sunil Prabhu had raised the matter saying almost 2,000 huts in the slum cluster had been gutted in the blaze. According to Prabhu, some residents of the cluster don't even have a change of clothes. “Everything has gone to ashes. More than 10,000 have been affected by the incident. We request the government to provide immediate relief,” he had said.
