Over 40 houses were reduced to ashes in Gunanagar, Chongkham under Namsai district on Saturday evening rendering scores of people homeless.
No casualties were reported but properties worth lakhs were reported to be lost in the inferno.
“The losses could have been averted if fire tender reached on time but due to absence of fire tender in Chongkam, fire brigade team has to come from Tezu and Namsai which are almost 30-35 Km from here,” a citizen was quoted as saying by Eastern Sentinel.
The incident, which took place around 7.30 pm on Saturday, has left several families homeless. According to residents, the fire spread so quickly that the families could not save anything.
The authorities are yet to ascertain the actual value of the properties lost.
Local MLA Chow Tewa Mein visited the victims and assured them of all possible help from his side. He appealed to the chief minister to provide monetary help and relief materials to the affected families at the earliest.
Deputy Commissioner Namsai, RK Sharma, along with a team of officials visited the village on Sunday and took stock of the situation.
