Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 19 (ANI): Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) has said the Hyderabad fire mishap which claimed the lives of 17 people was an act of 'criminal negligence' and demanded that the Revanth Reddy government announce at least Rs 25 lakh for each family that had lost their loved ones.

He cited concerns of family members of the deceased, saying that the fire brigade and emergency personnel involved in rescue operations must be provided with proper training, given that it was absent.

'This is criminal negligence...This is the largest fire incident to have happened in Hyderabad's history. 17 people have lost their lives. Family members are saying that the proper training needs to be given to the fire brigade and emergency personnel involved in rescue operations, but were not there,' KTR told reporters here.

He said that the fire brigade that came to douse the flames had no water, and the ambulances had no oxygen masks. If these things were available, it could have saved at least one life, KTR said. Owing to property loss, he appealed to the government to announce at least Rs 25 lakh for each family.

'When the fire brigade came, there was no water in it. In the ambulance, there was no oxygen mask. The families are saying that one or two lives could have been saved if these things were there. I want to tell the government that the ex-gratia announced is not enough and announce at least Rs 25 lakhs to each family. The CM and Home Minister should come and visit this place themselves and make sure such incidents won't happen again,' KTR said.

Maksud Ahamed, Charminar Electricity Assistant Divisional Engineer, told reporters,'We suspect that the cause of the fire is the AC compressor burst and not a short circuit.'

Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased performed special prayers at the Shiva temple near Charminar to pray for the peace of the souls of the 17 people who died in the fire. BRS working President KT Rama Rao and other leaders joined them at the time of grief.

A massive fire broke out early on May 18 at a family residence located on the first floor above the Modi Pearls jewellery shop in Gulzar Hauz, Charkaman area of Charminar, Hyderabad, resulting in the death of 17 people.

According to an FIR filed by Utkarsh Modi, son of Vinod Modi, his father received an urgent phone call at around 6:45 AM from their relative Rohit, who informed them about the fire engulfing their family home.

Utkarsh Modi and his father rushed to the scene, where they found the building ablaze, with emergency teams already present and working to control the fire and evacuate those inside.

Seventeen people, including children, were severely affected and shifted to multiple hospitals such as Yashoda Hospitals, Apollo Hospitals, Care Hospitals, and Osmania General Hospital.

Unfortunately, all 17 victims were declared dead by the doctors. The deceased include Rajini Agarwal, Pankaj Modi, Varsha Modi, their children Aanya, Idhika, and Iraaj Modi, Rishab Jain, Abhishek Modi, Arushi Jain, Sheetal Jain, Harshali Gupta, Rajender Kumar, Sumitra Modi, Prahalad Rai Modi, Munni Bai Modi, Pratham Agarwal, and Pranshi Agarwal.

The State government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for families of the victims who lost their lives in the fire incident at Gulzar Houz. Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the victims.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for each kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the mishap, from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF). (ANI)