BAHAWALPUR: Dozens of shops were reduced to ashes in a massive fire which broke out on Tuesday night in Gulzar-iSadiq shopping area adjacent to a petrol pump at Seraiki Chowk here.

According to District Emergency Officer(DEO) Baqir Hussain of Rescue 1122, the fire erupted following a mysterious blast occurring in a flower and garland shop and within no time it engulfed several other adjacent shops in a row.

The blast and the fire created panic among the customers, shopkeepers and other people in the shopping centres located at Seraiki Chowk, railway road and Eidgah areas.

The rescuers, on receipt of an emergency call, rushed to the scene along with three fireengines and an ambulance and began efforts to extinguish the fire.

Mr Hussain said because ofthe high flames leaping out of the burning shops, it was feared that the two adjacent petrol pumps could also catch fire. To speed up the anti-fire operation, he said, the fire brigades of Bahawalpur Municipal Corporation, two fire-engines from Lodhran district wereimmediately called to extinguish the fire.

The rescuers finally controlled the blaze after around two hours and and saved the petrol pumps from catching fire.

As per the owners of the burnt shops they suffered hugelosses because of the fire gutted their merchandise, along with the furniture and fixtures. They added that they were trying to assess the losses and appealed to the district administration and the Punjab government to announce a compensation package for them.

The police officials say they are probing into the cause of such a massive fire and the mysterious blast in the flower shop that started it.

BURNT ALIVE: A youth was burnt alive allegedly after he fell into the oven of a brick kiln on Beli Road in Khairpur Tamewali tehsil, about 45kms from here on Wednesday.

According to rescuers, deceased Adnan (18), a resident of Duniyapur, was working at the kiln when he accidentally fell into it and was burnt alive.

His charred body was taken out of the kiln by his fellow labourers present at the scene before the arrival of the Rescue 1122 team.

The body was shifted to theKhairpur Tamewali Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, till the arrival of the parents of the deceased youth from Duniaypur.

MINISTER:FederalMinister for Human Rights Riaz Hussain Peerzada has said the apex court should do justice in accordance with the Constitution instead of intervening in the politics.

Speaking at an event held at the Bahawalpur Press Club, the minister said the judiciary by giving independent decisions might restore people`s confidence in it.

He claimed that for the first time in the country`s history, the army chief had kept himself away from political controversies.

He said violation of human right could not be tolerated.

ARRESTED: Lodhran Saddar police have arrested four youths -Shehzad, Zohaib Alam, Amir Hamza and and Sajid for doing wheelie and impounded their motorcycles.