Family says prompt response could have saved their beloved

Srinagar, May 28 (ANH): The family of Nadiya Bashir, a Class 4th student of Iqbal Islamia School (IIS) in Brein here on Saturday alleged that their beloved could have been rescued in case the fire fighters could have responded to the distressed call on time.

The minor girl was charred to death in a mysterious midnight blaze at Dal Lake. The fire broke out in Kareem houseboat, located at Ghat number 16 in Abai Karpora area of Dalgate in Srinagar in which a Class 4^th student was killed and the houseboat got damaged as well.

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Nadiya’s mother, Rafiqa Bano while talking to The Asian News Hub (ANH), said that her daughter was good in studies and wanted to achieve big in her life.

“My only daughter was fond of art. She never bothered us. She was caring. Her death has shattered all our dreams. It’s still unbelievable that she has left us,” Rafiqa said.

While referring to the rescue operation, Rafiqa said that nobody bothered to save her.

“I had raised Nadiya with tremendous hardships. We will always miss her,” Rafiqa said.

“Police even did nothing and were busy saving their personal items. The whole family was inside the houseboat at the time when the fire broke out. The incident took place at around 01:00AM. The fire tenders reached late to douse the flames,” said Nadiya’s paternal aunt.

Meanwhile, police have taken cognizance of the incident and are investigating the cause of fire, while the district administration reached to the victims and provided financial assistance to manage their living.

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It also provided a financial assistance of Rs four lakh to the NoK’s of Nadiya Bashir.However, Nadiya’s family termed the assistance as insufficient.

“We have lost everything in the devastating fire. Our belongings got completely gutted. The financial assistance is too little to meet our needs. The government must provide more assistance. The boats stationed at Dalgate should be relocated to Nehru Park, so that they reach the spot on time,” said Altaf Faktoo, a local, who was himself involved in the rescue operation.

Talking to The Asian News Hub (ANH), Joint Director (JD), F&ES department, Bashir Ahmad Shah said that there wasn’t any delay from their side.“We rushed the fire tenders within no time. Actually, the delay was from the family’s side as they were unaware about the fire incident for almost an hour. We have been responding to every fire call,” Shah added.