At least 15 houses gutted in Himachal's Malana village

At least 15 wooden houses in Malana, the ancient Himalayan village where the legend of Alexander the Great lives on in the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh, were burnt down in a massive fire on early Wednesday, though there was no loss of life, police said.
The fire started at around 1.30 a.m. and the highly inflammable wooden houses and stored dry grass caught the fire.

The flames were brought under control by Wednesday morning by the fire department and locals and 15-odd houses gutted, officials said in Shimla.

Malana, one of the largest villages in Kullu district with a population of about 2,350 where the banned cannabis is the source of prime livelihood, is located amid high mountains, some 350 km from the state capital here.

In 2008, almost half of Malana, known for Malana Cream, the most sought-after forms of hashish across the globe, was wiped out in the massive fire.

Malana village, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, is located 45 km from Kullu town. Its nearest road is seven km down the hill that was constructed in 2007 - IANS