|
Fire at Grandpass displaces 160 residents
By Ayesha Wijeratne
A sudden fire at Mahawatta, Grandpass, early yesterday morning has
gutted at least 43 shanty homes, leaving around 160 persons displaced.
Initial investigations reveal that the fire broke out around 12:40
a.m. on Tuesday. Cause of the fire was unclear although initial
reports claimed that it was due to a kerosene lamp. However, police
claim that a garbage pile set on fire may have caused the fire.
Grandpass OIC C.W. Wickramasinghe told The Bottom Line that immediate
steps have been taken to provide temporary shelter to the displaced,
at the community centre at Thotalanga but, the displaced continued
to stay at Mahawatta.
He also disclosed that the shanties were all unauthorised constructions.
“With the assistance of the Army and the fire brigade, we were
able to control the fire within an hour, without causing further
damage or injury to those in the area,” he said.
The Disaster Management Ministry had also arranged temporary shelter
for the displaced at a school in Lunupokuna, Modera, though no one
has moved there yet. When contacted, Disaster Management Minister
Mahinda Samarasinghe said that they intend distributing roofing
sheets to the displaced and provide fire extinguishers to each house.
Director General, Disaster Management Centre, Gamini Hettiarachchi
said that there had been two fires over a period of four months.
“We will try to support them in building the temporary shelters,”
he said.
A mix of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, mostly engaged in manual
labour, were resident there.
|
