Sixty-year-old Chalitar Sardar was charred to death, said police. The fire broke out in the house belonging to Jhameli Sardar around the noon. Flames fuelled by the wind burnt down the settlement in no time.

Security personnel and local residents doused the fire in four hours, after fire engines arrived from Rajbiraj, Inaruwa and Itahari. The recently declared Kanchanrup Municipality does not have a fire truck.

The victims are staying under the open sky. Chief District Officer Birendra Prasad Yadav, who inspected the site, said the local administration had urged Red Cross to provide tents at the earliest. They were given Rs1,500 per person and some dry foods as immediate relief. The estimated loss is worth approximately Rs10 million.

3 hurt, properties worth Rs 13 million destroyed

Three persons were injured while properties worth around Rs13.2 million were destroyed as a Newroad-based building caught a fire in Pokhara on Thursday morning. Goods at DIP Suppliers and Pratiusha Paints Suppliers, and three motorcycles were destroyed in the blaze, police said. Govinda Adhikari, owner of DIP Suppliers, of Dulegauda in Tanahun, his five-year-old daughter Ayushka and Pramila Gurung of Gagangauda were injured in the incident. The fire was apparently caused by a short-circuit at around 6am. Security personnel and locals doused the flames after one-and-a-half hours.

Fungling loss worth Rs 440 million

An initial assessment of the damage caused by Monday’s fire at Tokmedanda in Fungling, Taplejung, shows properties worth around Rs440m were destroyed. Chief District Officer, who heads the District Disaster Management Committee, said 44 houses belonging to 40 families had turned into ashes. The committee distributed Rs20,000 each to owners of the destroyed houses and Rs5,000 each to tenants on Thursday. The district authorities provided Rs5,000 and Rs3,000 to each house owner and tenant, respectively.