No Water, No Masks, No Response: KTR Slams Govt Over Charminar Fire Tragedy

BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) has strongly criticized the Congress government, blaming its negligence for the devastating fire at Gulzar House in the Charminar area, which claimed 17 lives, including those of eight children.

KTR visited the accident site and met with the bereaved families to offer his condolences. Speaking to the media, he questioned why Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, despite claiming to work 18 hours a day, could not spare even one hour to review the causes of one of Hyderabad’s worst fire tragedies.

“Announcing ₹5 lakh as compensation is not enough. The Chief Minister must meet the victims’ families and hear their experiences firsthand,” KTR said.

“The government should focus on public safety, not just on organizing beauty pageants,” he quipped.

 “The association members and families are saying the same thing — after the fire broke out, people kept calling for help for nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes, but no one from the government responded.”

KTR further alleged that when the fire brigade eventually arrived, they were ill-equipped — lacking water, oxygen masks, and proper training. The former Minister for IT and Municipal Administration & Urban Development squarely blamed the government’s apathy for the scale of the tragedy.

Victims’ family members also pointed out that some lives could have been saved if fire ambulances had been stocked with oxygen cylinders and masks.

Hoping that the Congress-led government would take concrete steps to prevent such incidents in the future, KTR posted on X (formerly Twitter): “No ambulances! No water! No masks! This is an abject failure. This isn’t about politics. This fire accident should make anyone with a heart feel immense pain. Why couldn’t the CM, who claims to work 18 hours a day, take even an hour to hear these people out? Isn’t he also the Home Minister? Don’t these lives matter? Seventeen people from the same family died. This is the biggest fire accident in Hyderabad’s history, and still, no review?”