HUNTING TIAL
A huge quantity of puja toys and materials worth several crores were reduced to ashes in a major fire that gutted about 30 roadside shops near the Kondagattu hill shrine in Mallial mandal of Jagtial district late on Saturday. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
It is believed that the cause of the fire was a short circuit. It is suspected that the acrobatic acts of a pack of wild monkeys on a power line caused it to snap, resulting in a short circuit.
The fire broke out in a roadside shop around 11 pm and the flames quickly spread to nearby shops adjacent to the Karimnagar-Jagtial highway, destroying property.
When local residents noticed the fire, they called the fire department by phone. According to sources, a fire truck from Jagtial on its way to the fire site reportedly got stuck in the middle of the road.
Fire tenders from Dharmapuri and Karimnagar reached the spot and doused the flames, sources added. The injured were taken to a local school on Sunday morning. They were provided with food, groceries and clothing in the temporary shelter.
The fire destroyed the entire stock of puja toys and materials, leaving us with a devastated, sullen vendor whose makeshift roadside shop was completely gutted. “If the fire department had arrived early, we would have been spared a lot of property loss,” she said through tears.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Bandi Sanjay, who is in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur in connection with the DGP meeting, spoke to Jagtial Collector B. Satya Prasad over phone and inquired about the fire accident. He asked the district authorities to provide all possible support to the disabled.
Published – 30 Nov 2025 19:09 IST
