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Bharatpur fire brought under control

Firefighters on Saturday brought under control the major fire that broke out at the army ammunition dump near Bharatpur last evening, even as probe was ordered into the mishap that killed two persons and injured 10.

Approximately 14,000 tonnes of small arm ammunition and artillery stocked in 20 plinths at the depot was damaged in the fire, which broke out at 1515 hours Friday.

''The missiles in the depot have been saved,'' an army spokesman said in Jaipur.

Nine columns of troops and 15 fire tenders were involved in the damage-control operation. A defence ministry official said the fire had "raged for nearly 12 hours."

Union Defence Minister George Fernandes arrived in Bharatpur Saturday afternoon and held a high-level meeting.

Army sources said the residents of more than 12 adjoining villages who had been shifted to Bharatpur town have started returning home.

Bharatpur Additional District Magistrate Gyanram Choudhury said, "About 100 huts had burned out in the fire. The government is planning to give money to the villagers to rebuild their homes. We will also pitch makeshift shelters for the night."

Rail and road traffic, which was suspended in the vicinity of the depot, has resumed. Areas near the depot still wears a deserted look. The crops in the nearby field have been partially destroyed.

The government has announced a financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to the families of each of the dead, a police spokesman said in Jaipur.

''A staff court of inquiry headed by a major general will probe the cause of the fire,'' an army spokesman said in Delhi.

Rajasthan director general of police said in Jaipur that short circuit could be one of the reasons for the blaze. However, the authorities do not rule out sabotage.

The depot, which houses 130-mm high-calibre shells and other explosive material, is surrounded by dry grass.

Fernandes will now ''personally supervise'' the relief operations.

Earlier in the national capital, he had gone into a huddle with Defence Secretary T R Prasad, the vice chief of army staff and senior officials.

The security in ammunition depots in the border districts of Rajasthan has been tightened. Strict vigil is being maintained in all defence establishments and airforce stations.

The dead have been identified as Viri Singh and Arjundas Khatri.

An official spokesman clarified that Keshanti Devi, who was initially declared in the mishap, was ''in fact found among the injured.'' The condition of the two among the injured -- Lakshminarayan Sunder and Kishni -- was stated to be improving.

The weather office in Jaipur said the town and adjacent areas had been experiencing temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius in the last fortnight.

UNI

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