The fire incident in Bumthang

Children have started going to school and people are trying to lead a normal life but life will never be the same for people affected by the October 26 fire in Chamkar town.
The October 26 incident is a nightmare for most Bumthabs and a few are yet to recover from the shock while most have accepted their fate and trying to start from scratch again.

The fire that started off from a mobile shop had left 267 people homeless but the timely intervention of the Government and Galpoi Zimpoen’s office has given new hopes to the people.

The victims of the fire are happy with how the situation was handled during the incident and after the incident.

The fire started at around 1:45 am and by 2 am the dzongda and Zimpon were on the spot coordinating to bring the fire under control. With just one fire engine, school children, monks, passengers plying through Bumthang, police, civil servants and the local residents all put in effort and the fire was controlled within three hours.
Right after the fire was controlled arrangements of food, shelter and clothing was made for all. The students of Chumey institute of civil engineering built shelter for 21 household immediately, some families are putting up in tents and a few are staying with their relatives.

People including the victims said that the situation was handled very well.
The ground has been cleared and work for construction of new houses has started. All those shop and house owners will receive equal plots each for temporary resettlement in the same location before they shift to Dekiling the new town area, which will take three to four years according to Bumthang Dzongda Sangay Thinley.
The people will stay in the make shift shelters till the construction is complete.
More than 300 army personals have been deployed.

“We are lucky to have been born in a country where the King and the government take care of the citizen like this,” said one of the victims.

Cause of the fireThe cause of the fire, which destroyed about 59 shops and houses, is not confirmed. While, most people say it could be because of short circuit a few say it is due to negligence. A handful of victims feel it could be intentional but they have no fingers to point.

This is the third such incident in Bumthang. The first incident took place in 1985 and the second in 2005. Sources say it was around the same time of the year during the Jambay Lhakhang Tshechu.

“This is the time when most people stay out late enjoying and drinking,” said one of the victim.

Damages causedThe fire has killed two, injured one and left 267 people homeless
One of the travelers travelling to Thimphu from Trashigang and a person working as helper in one of the shops died. While the body of the helper was given to his relatives no one came forward to claim the body of the traveler, so on 1000 butter lamps were offered for him by the dzongkhag.

The traveler was putting up in Hotel Sonam and during the incident of the fire he had refused to budge from his room because he was drunk.

The fire, which lasted for more than three hours, destroyed 59 shops and houses. The fire also damaged three parked vehicles.

The fire has also indirectly affected other shopkeepers. A few of the shopkeepers lost goods worth a good amount of money during the incident. One of the shopkeeper lost his flat screen TV during the incident while other lost clothes and other things.
Dorji, whose house was partially burnt, was spared by the fire but not by the people who robbed him disguised as helpers. He lost goods worth Nu 1.3 million. “There were a lot of people to help during which it was difficult to keep track of what was being taken where,” he said.

Some of the people helping control the fire did agree that such things could have happened because a few of them had seen people run of with others belongings.
Other damages are indirect like the prices of some basic commodities have gone up and getting a room has become difficult.

Dzongda Sangay Thinley said that most of the low cost hotels were affected by the fire so passengers are running out of rooms. “There are rooms available but now passengers do not have much choice of rooms,” he said,

Kidu His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, along with Their Majesties the Queen Mothers, Minister of Works and Human settlement, members of parliament and Dratshang visited Bumthang to comfort the victims and express the support of the nation to the families the same day of the incident.

His Majesty the King visited the site on October 31 and visited the temporary shelters and assured the affected families that he will be stationed in Bumthang and will personally oversee the relief efforts that are currently underway. His Majesty expressed his wish to rebuild their homes and resume their lives as soon as possible.

His Majesty also visited the temporary shelters and met with individual families to assess their living conditions and other facilities built for them.
Nu 50,000, Nu 40000 and Nu 10000 was granted as kidu to the victims depending on their loss from His Majesty’s relief fund.

The people were also assured that free timber and CGI sheets will be provided.
The victims are also provided with food, ration, clothing and blankets by the Gyalpoi Zimpon’s Office.

“We are lucky to be born in a country where the king takes care of everything and is very much concerned about us,” said one of the victim.
BCCI also gave Nu 5000 each to the shopkeepers and there are donations from people too.

InsuranceSome 100 victims had insured with the Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan (RICB) and two victims had insured with Bhutan Insurance Limited (BIL).
RICB identified 12 of their clients and are still assessing the property damage. They paid off some of their clients with 50 percent of the sum insured the rest will be given after the assessment. “This is to support our client so that they can immediately start over again,” said Dorji Phuntsho the RICB Manager in Bumthang.
They have compensated Nu 3 million to their clients and everyday there are clients approaching them for their claims.

Insurance policy worth Nu 8475800 has been lapsed. RICB has identified five victims who have failed to renew their insurance policies hence making them ineligible for compensation.

“Since we are business people we forgot about renewing the policy and RICBL did not even send us a reminder,” said one of the victim.

RICB also paid off 39 households for the rural insurance scheme to the victims. There were three permanent houses that were paid Nu 100,000 while semi permanent houses were paid Nu 40,000.

The two victims insured with BIL were paid 60 percent of the compensation. One had insured for more than Nu 2 Million and the other had insured for Nu 1.5 million. “The rest will be paid after the complete documentation and assessment,” said Tashi Tenzin the manager of BIL in Bumthang.

Victims’ voiceChundu a shop owner affected by the fire recovered 60 percent of his household items but lost his entire stock from the shop. “It is touching to see that everyone is concerned, we will be able to overcone the difficulty and start over again,” he said.

Aum Kuenga Tshomo from whose mobile shop the fire started was not home when the incident occurred. Her son, daughter in-law and grand children were home during that day.

“By the time my children realized that the house was on fire it was too late to get anything out except the children,” she said.

Pema, 68-year-old, another victim of the fire recollects the night of the incident clearly. “I was sound asleep when my wife started kicking me and telling me about the fire. I cursed her for spoiling my sleep and when I woke up everything was on fire,” he said. “Had it not been for her I would have died.”

He also lost his vehicle to the fire but he is not disheartened. “I started from a scratch and now I am back to where I was. I am happy that I at least have a good capital now to start with. Earlier I just started off with a few amount of money,” he said.

However, most victims say it will never be the same.