ILAM: Irate fire-victims and locals today vandalised the Ilam Municipality office and the Martyr Pillar in Chowk Bazaar, protesting the failure to bring the fire engine owned by the civic body from Jhapa, where it lies after repair.

A vehicle parked in the office was also vandalised. The protesters later padlocked the municipality gate. The locals argued that the fire would have been taken under control before the massive destruction had the engine been there. Earlier, when the locals demanded the construction of a reserve tank saying that the water collected could be used during emergencies including a fire, political parties had agreed to construct a pillar in martyrs’ memory at the cost of Rs 6.5 lakh.

In the fire that broke out on Monday night,

10 houses were gutted while eight had been

demolished to control further loss.

Meanwhile, a campaign to collect funds for relief to the victims has got underway. Various agencies and organisations, including District Natural Disaster Rescue Committee, the District Development Committee (DDC), Ilam municipality, Nepal Red Cross Society, Ilam Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ICCI) and Radio Nepalbani FM have started collection.