Kolkata (Calcutta), India, March 10, 2008—An Indian woman sits near the remains of her home after a fired gutted some 500 shacks in a slum on the southern fringes of Kolkata. The blaze left some 3,000 people homeless, according to news reports.

The fire spread quickly after cooking gas cylinders exploded in several shanties. The area's narrow lanes and lack of ready water stymied firefighting efforts, the Expressindia news service reported.

Worldwide, about a billion people currently live in sprawling city slums with inadequate access to clean water, proper sanitation, or legitimate housing, according to the United Nations.

About a third of Kolkata residents are believed to live in slums.

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