Inhabitants of Chembur’s Siddharth Colony for at the least 40 years, the Guptas had been quick asleep early Sunday when a level-I fireplace broke out on the bottom flooring of their three-storey home, racing rapidly onto the higher flooring.
Whilst native residents and the Mumbai Fireplace Brigade personnel rushed to rescue them, the blaze claimed seven lives of the Gupta household, forsaking simply two surviving members, some charred paperwork and burnt garments, which had been unfold out to dry on the window grills, maybe a couple of hours earlier than the incident.
Native residents say your entire ground-plus-two storey chawl was house to the Guptas, who lived as a joint household.
Whereas the bottom flooring housed a grocery store run by the household, the members stayed on the higher flooring.
Recounting the incident, native residents stated that it was the eldest son of the family, who raised the primary alarm on the hearth. Whereas the BMC is but to determine the precise reason for the hearth, individuals who aided within the rescue work stated {that a} lamp lit within the store, probably triggered the hearth.
Guptas’ neighbour Ashutosh Gangurde, who aided within the rescue operations, stated, “Round 4 am, the eldest son of the home who noticed the hearth alerted all of us and we rushed to extinguish the hearth. We alerted the opposite members who had been sleeping on the higher flooring and began makes an attempt to convey them out. We tried to interrupt the partitions and the roof however the fireplace unfold in a short time, probably on account of kerosene cans saved within the store.”
Gangurde added that the Gupta household had been operating the kirana retailer for the previous 40-50 years. “The hearth brigade reached quickly and pumped water from at the least three tankers. But the hearth saved spreading,” he stated.
By the point the trapped members had been rescued from the burning construction, they suffered extreme burns. The victims have been recognized as Prisi Prem Gupta (6), Manju Prem Gupta (30), Geetadevi Gupta (60), Prem Chediram Gupta (30), Vidhi Dharamdev Gupta (16), Naremdra Dharamdev Gupta (10) and Anita Dharamdev Gupta (39).
‘Peace-loving, affable’
Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, the Gupta household who had been residing at Siddharth Colony for many years have been peace-loving and affable, residents recall. A relative of the Guptas, who requested anonymity, instructed The Indian Categorical, “Whereas they ran the store for a number of many years, they stopped operating it full-time almost 10-15 years in the past, after the sons of the household had kids and began with different skilled jobs. Since then, they’d open the store solely part-time.”
One of many sons of the household additionally ran a chemist store within the neighborhood. Within the aftermath of the hearth, a number of prospects of the store additionally flocked to the location on Sunday afternoon. A teary-eyed buyer of the chemist store stated, “We’d ceaselessly go to their chemist store. When bought to know concerning the fireplace within the morning, we recognised the household instantly and rushed right here.”
One other neighbour of the Guptas, requesting anonymity, stated, “Now we have recognized the household since my childhood as all of us grew up right here. They had been very calm, cool and lived peacefully. They had been all very pleasant and by no means bumped into issues.”
Two members who survived the blaze embody the over 70-year-old patriarch of the household, Chedilal Gupta and his eldest son, Dharamdev Gupta.
Arvind, a cousin of the sufferer, instructed The Indian Categorical, “They’ve been taken to the hospital the place they’re recovering.”
After the flames had been doused, family members and mates of the household scanned the burnt home to recuperate their belongings to help the police and fireplace personnel with their investigations.
What officers say
An official from the MFB stated that the reason for the hearth is but to be ascertained, with the investigation nonetheless underway. “It was an informally constructed construction with no inner fireplace preventing system. Our committee will conduct the investigation to find out the precise reason for the hearth,” the official stated.
In line with a senior official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Company (BMC), the plot, being an outdated space, has been notified by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority. In a letter of intent (LoI) dated August 2021, the SRA had issued the principal approval for the proposed slum rehabilitation scheme on the Chembur plot for “Siddharth Colony Vikas Seva Sangh Housing Federation SRA CHS”.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the location and met the aggrieved family members and introduced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh every to the kin of the deceased. The CM additionally assured that the injured could be handled at authorities expense. Shinde additionally known as for a high-level probe to find out the reason for the hearth and evaluation measures to forestall such incidents.
The hearth on Sunday comes precisely one yr after a blaze at SRA constructing in Goregaon claimed seven lives and injured 69 on October 6, 2023.
