Major fire in Mumbai building; 1 dead, 6 suffer from suffocation, injuries
Mumbai: A 22-year-old man died and six others suffered from suffocation and other injuries after a massive fire broke out in a five-storey commercial building in south Mumbai's Grant Road area on Sunday morning, officials said.
Around eight to ten people were also rescued from the building, they said. The fire brigade got a call about the blaze in 'Aditya Arcade' building around 6 am. The blaze engulfed the building's electric duct passing through its staircase, stalls and offices situated in the basement, ground and first floors, they said.
A person, identified as Uttam Kumar, was found unconscious in the common passage near the staircase and was rushed to the nearby civic-run Nair Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival, a fire brigade official said.
Kumar seemed to have got trapped in the common passage while trying to escape as the fire engulfed the electric duct from the basement to upper floors by then, he said.
"Besides, five persons, including a fireman, suffered from suffocation, while one fireman received injuries on his hand during the rescue operation," he said. Of these six, three persons - Dilip Choudhary (40), Ashok Choudhary (23) and Bharat Choudhary (23) - were rushed to the state-run J J Hospital after they complained of suffocation.
"Their condition is reported to be stable," he said.
"Fireman Sudhan Gore also suffered from suffocation and dehydration, while fireman Nandkumar Wayal received cut injuries on his left hand. They were sent to Nair Hospital for further treatment," chief fire officer P S Rahangdale said.
"The fire was first reported at 6.06 am. It was a level-4 fire. The flames have been brought under control and rescue operation is underway," he said.
Since the smoke and heat made the rescue operations difficult, the fire brigade used battery-operated tools bought recently from Israel to cut windows and grills to get inside, the official said.
Thermal imaging cameras were also being used to locate the flames, he said.
The firefighting operations involved 150 personnel, 16 engines, 70 breathing apparatus sets, 10 jumbo tankers, besides several types of ladders which helped in rescuing eight to ten people from the building, another official said.
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Bypoll results will decide the future of Congress in Karnataka: BJP leader Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of Opposition BJP in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka said the results of the bypolls in Davanagere South and Bagalkote assembly constituencies will decide the future of the ruling Congress in the state.
The bypolls were necessitated following the demise of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, who represented Davanagere South and Bagalkote constituencies respectively.
The ruling Congress has fielded Shamanur Shivashankarappa’s grandson and Karnataka Minister S S Mallikarjun’s son Samarth Shamanur in Davanagere South and Umesh Meti in Bagalkote, who are locked in a direct contest with BJP candidates T Dasakariyappa and Veerabhadrayya Charantimath.
According to Ashoka, there is a contest between the poor and the rich in the upcoming bypolls, scheduled on April 9.
"The Congress will lose this election, and the future of the state will be decided. Since Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said ‘Make the poor win’, the BJP has fielded poor candidates,” the BJP leader said in a press conference.
In Davanagere, the BJP has given a ticket to an ordinary person, whereas Congress has given tickets to powerful and influential people. In Bagalkote, there is a very good opinion about the BJP candidate, he claimed.
According to him, the Congress has given space to dynastic politics in both places. Therefore, the BJP has a strong chance of winning in both constituencies.
The LoP said if the Congress candidate wins in Davanagere, it is understood that Muslims will not get opportunities in the future, and therefore, Muslims are opposing the Congress party.
He also charged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who talks about uniting backward classes, has not given a ticket to backward class candidates.
