Centre releases Rs 10 crores interim assistance for Kashmir depot fire victims

The Centre today released an interim assistance of Rupees 10 crores for the families affected by the fire in an ammunition depot in Khundroo in Jammu and Kashmirs Anantnag District.

New Delhi, Aug 29 : The Centre today released an interim assistance of Rupees 10 crores for the families affected by the fire in an ammunition depot in Khundroo in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag District.

The arms depot, one of the biggest in the region, caught fire on August 11 and the explosion of shells that followed killed at least twenty-one people, including army personnel, fire-fighters and civilians.

The interim assistance is the first step towards providing succour to families living in the nearby villages, who had been evacuated.

The Defence Ministry has also worked out the compensation norms for the people inhabiting areas adjacent to the arms depot that include compensation of Rs. 1.5 lakhs per pucca house destroyed in the fire and compensation for the kutcha house destroyed will be Rs. 50,000.

For partially damaged houses, the compensation will be Rs. 50,000 per pucca house and Rs. 25,000 per kutcha house.

The compensation for damages to crops, standing fruit trees, orchards, perennial crops and for cattle and birds killed will be as per the rates specified under norms of assistance from the Calamity Relief Fund as laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The district administration will assess the damage and an officer to be nominated for the purpose by the Chief Secretary of the State Government would work out the compensation or assistance payable in individual cases as per the norms.

The government had earlier announced paying Rupees 2.5 lakh to the family members of those killed in the incident.

The cause into the August 11 fire that destroyed close to 1300 crores worth of ammunition is still not clear. Though militant groups in the valley lined up to claim attacking the depot with rocket launchers, the Army has rejected sabotage angle into the incident.

A Central fact-finding team is already investigation into the cause of the fire.

Almost a week later, after the fire broke out, the army was able to begin a major mopping operation to clear up the gutted arms depot of hundreds of hazardous rockets, artillery shells and bombs.

The fire and subsequent blast resulted in the spread of a large stockpile of arsenal across Khundroo village and surrounding areas.

Around 500 army personnel, paramilitary forces, and a member of bomb disposal squads were pushed into service to sanitize the affected areas, and hundreds of locals were evacuated to safer areas, where the civil administration and the Army set up makeshift relief camps.

ANI