Eleven tea estate workers’ Layams (cluster homes) were gutted in a fire at Goodarvilai estate in Nettikkudy division under the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP), near Munnar, in Idukki in the early hours of Monday.
According to residents, the fire broke out at 4.10 a.m. at a locked house at Pathinonnumury Layams, and the blaze soon spread to other houses. Saravanan, a resident, noticed fog inside the house and alerted others. All escaped narrowly.
Workers worried
On February 8, seven such houses were gutted in a fire at the Sholamala estate in the Nallathanni division under the KDHP near Munnar. On January 11, seven cluster homes were gutted at Kadalar estate, near Munnar, under the KDHP. The workers raised apprehension about the repeated fire incidents at their houses.
New houses
According to KDHP sources, the company allotted new houses to the affected families on Monday evening and provided essential commodities. Munnar Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.SP) Alex Baby said the police had registered cases in all fire incidents at the Layams. “The probe did not detect any foul play,” said the official.
