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New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) Around a thousand people were left homeless as about 250 jhuggis (shacks) were gutted in a major fire that broke out in the old quarters of the city early Friday, officials said. No casualties were reported.

The fire broke out in the slum clusters of old Delhi's Sadar Bazar area and was possibly caused by an electrical short circuit. Within minutes, the flames engulfed the jhuggis, said a police official.

"We received a call around 1 a.m. and sent 25 fire tenders. It took us two hours to douse the flames," said an official of the fire department.

Though there were no injuries or deaths, the blaze has left over a thousand slum dwellers without a roof on their head in the scorching Delhi heat, according to police.