India, Feb. 22 -- A day after over 200 hutments in Ambewadi, near the Film City gate, were gutted in a blaze, a pall of gloom hung over the unauthorised slum settlement on Friday. Only a few portions of brick walls and metal sheets were still standing amidst piles of rubble, ash and stumps of burnt trees. Yet, residents were looking through for hours on end to see if they could salvage something.

"Everything that we owned is gone," said a tearful Meena Sharma. The family had moved into their hutment less than two years ago, on a monthly rent of Rs.1,500. Sharma was cooking at home on Thursday evening when she a 'halla' (pandemonium) outside.

"We heard many gas cylinders bursting and saw everyone running. So we too ran, leaving behind ev...