38 cows perish as fire engulfs Ghaziabad goshala

Thirty-eight cows were charred to death after a fire broke out at a dumpyard here and engulfed a cow shelter nearby, officials said.

The incident took place around 1.30 pm at the goshala in Kanawani village under the Indirapuram police station limits, they said.

According to Suraj Pandit, the operator of the Shri Krishna Goshala, there were around 150 cows at the facility at the time of the blaze, which was suspected to have been triggered by a fire in a dumpyard close to it.

District Magistrate Rakesh Kumar Singh reached the incident site for an inspection and said a committee has been formed to probe the matter.

"According to the primary inspection, 15 to 20 cattle have died in the fire. Further details are being looked into and an inquiry is underway," Singh told reporters.

Ghaziabad police chief Muniraj G also visited the site where fire tenders were rushed to control the blaze.

Later, Circle Officer (Indirapuram) Abhay Kumar Mishra put the number of cows killed in the incident to 38. Mishra is among the members of a committee formed to probe the matter.

The other members include the chief fire officer and the chief development officer of the district. Witnesses said there is a dumpyard close to the goshala which caught fire in the afternoon amid scorching heat.

Speaking to a TV news channel, a witness claimed that locals had written to district authorities in the past about vulnerabilities due to the presence of the dumpyard so close to the cattle shelter but no steps were taken to resolve the issue.

Officials said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.