PERNEM
Some tourists on Friday filed complaints at the Mandrem police station in connection with their belongings, which were destroyed after a major fire gutted luxury cottages near the Ajoba Temple at Ashwem-Mandrem on Thursday night.
The tourists had left their belongings, including mobile phones, valuables, and clothing, in the rooms and had gone out when the fire mishap took place, causing them significant losses.
Commenting on the fire mishap, Pernem Fire Officer Namdev Pariwar said the property destroyed in the fire is estimated at over Rs 40 lakh.
Fire brigades from Pernem, Mapusa, and Porvorim battled for three and a half hours before extinguishing the fire.
Following the fire mishap, locals in the area raised several queries regarding the validity of the structures. They sought to know how authorities had not taken any action against these luxurious cottages adjacent to the Ajoba Temple when these structures did not have permission from the Mandrem panchayat.
They pointed out that these cottages had been constructed in a highly congested area, with even the fire tenders encountering obstacles to quickly reach the site of the fire.
