Shimla: 21 families belonging to nine houses in Daroti village in Tikkar tehsil of Jubbal Kotkhai assembly constituency in Shimla district were gutted in a massive fire that broke out on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon, Education Minister Rohit Thakur and Deputy Commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi also reached the spot and consoled the affected people.

The fire broke out around 0030 hrs on the intervening nights of Saturday and Sunday, and it took seven to eight hours to douse it completely.

The villagers also tried to extinguish the fire at their own level. Information was also given to the fire department and the police. The fire department team reached the spot and stopped the fire from reaching other houses.

A total of 21 families lived in these nine houses.

The fire was so fierce that, within a short time, all the houses were burned.

In the preliminary investigation, a short circuit is believed to be the cause of the fire.

Property worth two crores reduced to ashes.

An immediate relief of Rs 10 thousand each has been disbursed to the affected families.

SDM Rohru Sunny Sharma said that the police and administration teams reached the spot and took stock of the relief work.

The Revenue Department will assess the loss and prepare a report.

(With UNI Inputs)