Siliguri: A fire broke out at a clothing store at Batamore in Alipurduar on Wednesday night. The incident had taken place at around 9 pm.
The owner of the shop immediately informed the police and the fire station. The building is two-storeyed, first floor being the residence and ground floor being the shop. Though the fire had engulfed a huge portion of the shop, his residence wasn't highly affected. It nearly took the fire brigade three and a half hours to extinguish the fire flames. The fire had caused a great deal of loss but none of the members of the shop was injured because it was an off day. "My business faced immense loss before the Durga Puja and I will personally request the government to help compensate the huge loss. The police team had started their investigation into the matter," stated Sourav Chakraborty, chairman of SiliguriJalpaiguri Department Authority, who had visited the spot that night. There had been a few fire accidents in the Batamore area, creating fear amongst the businessmen of the locality, but the government has assured full support. "The incident might have occurred due to short circuit," stated a source from the fire brigade.