At least 22 houses
belonging to tribal and BPL families were gutted at Daringbadi in Odisha's Kandhamal district.
The fire broke out at Ulipadar village when the residents of the houses had been to nearby Jhingiriguda gram panchayat office to collect their monthly quota of subsidised rice yesterday, Daringbadi block development officer Sunakar Sharma said.
There are no fire engines at Darringbadi and the thatched houses were reduced to ashes by the time fire brigade personnel arrived from neighbouring Mohana block.
The cause of fire is yet to be ascertained and the loss due to it is being calculated, Sharma said.
While the victims alleged that they had to spend the night under trees in the absence of relief from the authorities, sub-collector Anupam Saha instructed the tehsildar of Daringbadi to provide assistance to them.
