MUMBAI, Nov. 23 -- A fire in multiple residential and commercial galas in Dharavi, right beside the harbour line tracks near Mahim station, led to the loss of materials worth lakhs of rupees and an over-three-hour disruption on Central Railway's Harbour line. Trains were halted due to the cutting off of power supply to the overhead wires as a safety precaution, and people were seen walking down on the tracks to get to the still-functional Western Railway line. No injuries were reported. The fire began at approximately 12.15 pm in the block referred to as Navrang Compound in Dharavi. "It started at the ground-plus-one (G+1) gala at one end of the line adjacent to the railway line-we suspect it was due to a cylinder blast which happened when people were cooking on the first floor," said Ashraf Shaikh, a resident of the last gala in the line, fortunately untouched by the fire. "The bottom floor was where waste would be sorted, and drug addicts would sleep, and the cooking happened on the top floor. After the fire struck, they probably ran away." The flames blazed across the line of G+1 structures, typically made of tin sheets and often with flammable material stored in them. Over five structures in a row, partly used for residences and partly for commercial use, were completely scorched. But alerted by the commotion of exploding cylinders and the hullabaloo, most people had exited their spaces by then and fled to safety. "There was a schezwan chutney wala in one of the galas. He probably had a few gas cylinders, so when the fire reached his house, there were loud explosions and flames leapt out," said Mohammed Shahid Shah, who claimed to be the owner of a rented-out gala. In the galas ahead was a kirana store and a ration shop. In this mix, the flames leapt out and struck a larger commercial gala opposite, housing a sewing warehouse on the first floor and wood and cardboard recycling warehouses below. At 1.18 pm, the fire escalated to a Level 2 fire, thanks to the flammable material. The fire was brought under control by 3.30 pm and extinguished at 3.40 pm. In its aftermath, residents of the area scoured the burnt scraps to salvage what they could. "My daughter was about to get married, and everything we had bought for the wedding went up in flames," said Najima Shaikh, a resident of one of the galas. Her relative, Naseem Banu, whom she lived with, ran a basic grocery shop started by her elderly mother. A few shops ahead was a space recently rented to store and sell grains, onions and potatoes; these were all salvaged from the fire, piled up some distance away with someone watching over them. A fire brigade official said that preliminary findings from the locals suggested that the blaze had begun due to cylinder bursts. "The challenge was to reach the spot in time, as the narrow roads leading to the site made it extremely difficult, but we managed to contain the fire," he said. :Due to the plastic items stored in many of the galas, it spread quickly." A Western Railway statement said that "due to a fire in the shanties adjacent to the Up harbour line on the east side between Mahim and Bandra at around 12.15 pm, the electric supply to the overhead equipment was disconnected as a safety measure. In view of this, the harbour line train services were regulated till the situation was under control. No risk to any passenger or trains as they have been regulated and are away from the site."...