A fire at a farmer’s hut in Neralakatte Gollarahatti in the taluk’s Mayasandra hobli, has caused considerable damage after it spread to the nearby properties, killing a woman.
Several livestock and cattle perished in the fire, in which three huts, Rs 95,000 in cash, 35 bags of ragi, 16 bags of paddy, were gutted. Gollarahatti has a total of 45 houses, most of which are huts with thatched roofs. At about 1.30 in the night, the house of a farmer, Eleyeerayya, caught fire, and the residents ran onto the street. Eleyeerayya’s aunt Kariyamma, thinking that her granddaughter was trapped inside the hut went in to rescue her. She was unable to escape, and is said to have perished in the fire.
The owner of the house had sold his field to build a new house. The money from that sale - nearly Rs 70,000 had been kept in a trunk in his hut, and was destroyed in the fire. The total loss of property has been pegged at Rs 3 lakh - Rs 95,000 in cash and gold, 55 bags of foodgrains, 4 cattle, and 4 goats.
Former legislator M D Lakshminarayana, M T Krishnappa, S Rudrappa, the tahsildar, taluk panchayat CEO, zilla panchayat member N R Jayaram, Neralakatti gram panchayat member N R Rajashekhar, taluk Yadav Association president Ugrappa and taluk panchayat member Somanna visited Eleyeerayya’s family.
Relief
Former legislator and Congress leader S Rudrappa gave a sum of Rs 2,000 to Eleyeerayya’s family, and a sum of Rs 1,000 to the other families who lost their property. Former legislator Krishnappa has given Rs 3,000 to the families, and assured  the families will be granted compensation. Circle Inspector Qadir, SI Krishnaraju inspected the spot.