Although the fire was extinguished with the help of the Biratnagar Metropolitan fire brigade, security personnel, and locals, DSP Lamichhane stated that because the houses were made of straw, all 11 houses in the settlement were completely burned before the fire could be fully controlled.
The fire started suddenly in Soni Rishidev and then spread throughout the entire settlement.
The police reported that the fire caused damage worth Rs. 11.7 million.
After the fire, the affected families are in distress. Families from the Musahar community, who are landless and rely on daily wages, have lost their shelters and are now forced to live under the open sky. Ward Chair Tilak Nath Mandal stated that with houses, clothes, food grains, and daily essentials burned, the entire settlement’s fire victims have been deprived of basic human rights. He further added that senior citizens and children are now forced to live hungry, as all their possessions were destroyed.
Ward Chair Mandal also mentioned that he is making efforts to provide relief to the fire victims.
For the time being, the victims have been accommodated at Janata Basic School. Ward Chair Tilak Nath Mandal said that they are hoping for relief.
A fire broke out in the Musahar settlement, located about one and a half kilometers east of Gokuwa Chowk on the Koshi Highway, destroying 11 houses along with clothes and food grains.