Telangana Minister Announces Rs 5 Lakh Ex Gratia to Victims' Families as Hyderabad's Nampally Fire Kills Five

Hyderabad: State revenue, housing & information and public relations minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of those who lost their lives in the Nampally fire incident. 

He instructed Hyderabad District Collector Harichandana to ensure the assistance reaches the families promptly. The minister also directed the collector to take stringent measures on fire safety norms and security protocols to prevent such incidents in the future. 

5 killed in Hyderabad’s Nampally Fire 

Earlier in the day, rescue teams recovered the bodies of five people who were trapped in a fire at a furniture shop in Nampally, Hyderabad, and the bodies have been shifted to Osmania Hospital for post-mortem examination.

The victims have been identified as Baby Gulbarga (a female watchman), Imtiaz Habib, and two children (Akhil and Praneeth). The fire, which broke out on Saturday, was brought under control after 20 hours, but the intense heat and smoke made rescue operations challenging.

"As we were informed yesterday, five people were trapped. So we have recovered all five bodies. The first body was recovered this morning at around 9:15, and just now, the fifth body has also been recovered. All the bodies have been sent to Osmania Hospital," Telangana Fire DG Vikram Singh Mann confirmed.

Further, he revealed that the victims were workers who had been provided accommodation in the building's basement, which were meant for parking only, and got trapped. 

"They were working here and were given accommodation in the basement. So two of them were trying to rescue the others. But unfortunately, they also got trapped. This basement is only meant for parking vehicles," he said.

What caused the fire? 

Telangana Fire DG Vikram Singh Mann termed the incident a "clear case of criminal negligence", adding that strict action would be initiated, as the owner of the shop has been taken into custody.

Mann added that the rescue and firefighting operations were delayed as the basement was packed with highly flammable material. 

"One of the reasons why it took us so much time to clear the area, extinguish the fire and recover the bodies is that this entire basement was filled with all kinds of materials. It was highly flammable. Despite all this, by using maximum resources and equipment, we managed to extinguish the fire and bring these people out," he said.

Meanwhile, Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar expressed shock and grief over the incident and condoled the deaths. He said the matter has been brought to the notice of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and assured support to the affected families.

Prabhakar directed the police to register criminal cases against the shop owner for violating fire safety norms. He also instructed officials from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), police, revenue department and HYDRA to coordinate and take steps to prevent such incidents in the future. 

Appealing to the public, the minister urged citizens to report buildings that do not comply with fire safety regulations.

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