IMPHAL, April 12: Altogether 14 houses and goods worth lakhs of rupees were destroyed by a wild-fire at separate incidents in two villages of Chandel district, today.
A wildfire spreading from the western hills of Laichingkhuman village under Tengnoupal Police Station along the National Highway no 102 razed two houses and everything inside around 2pm.
The village lies around 2-3 km east of Heikakpokpi village along the highway.
Even though villagers and fire tenders from the Kakching Fire sub-station fought hard to control the wildfire, the strong winds only fanned the fire which razed the two houses to the ground.
The two houses belongs to D Kochor Maring, 41, son of D Kodarchung and D Premson Maring, 38 son of D Kodarchung of Laiching Khunman.
As a team of reporters rushed to cover the fire, panicking villagers were seen vacating their homes and moving their belongings to safer places, while other including women were seen carrying water and tree branches in their bid to douse the fire before it could spread to other houses.
According to the villagers, the fire was started by a farmer identified as P Sharankumar Singh son of P Ibobi Singh of Kakching Khunyai Leikai at his plantation farm at the foothills.
Meanwhile, villagers had apprehended him and asked others against starting fire unnecessarily in the nearby areas in the future.
In a separate incident, 12 houses were razed to the ground by another wildfire at Lamkang Khunyai Village under Chandel police station which is seven kms south of Komlathabi village near Pallel.
On getting reports of the fire, a team of the 20 Assam Rifles posted at the Bongyang post rushed to the village and helped the villagers fight the inferno.
A fire tender of the Kakching Fire Station which was returning from attending the wildfire at Laiching Khunman also stopped to help the villager, but could not reach the village as the approach road was too steep.
Briefing media persons, the villagers said that the fire was brought by the wind from another hill ranges which lies on the western side of the village.
A fire landed on the roof of a house and spread further destroying several houses and two rice mills of the village.
The villagers lamented that if there was enough water in the village, the fire could have been controlled much earlier and the damage could have been reduced.
