Malda dist: At least 15 shops gutted, 2 cattle dead in fire

malda: At least 15 shops and houses were gutted and 2 cattle died in a devastating fire in Hossainpur Gidarmari Bazar of Kushida Gram Panchayat of Harishchandrapur-1 block in Malda on Monday afternoon As the area is densely populated it did not take much time for the fire to spread out.

At first, the locals rushed to the spot to put out the fire but could not control it. Tulsihatta fire office was immediately informed. After receiving the news, two fire engines reached the spot. The fire came under control after hours.

Anirban Basu, Block Development Officer (BDO) Harishchandrapur 1, said, “Some emergency relief material has been distributed through the GP as of now. The block administration will take necessary steps after taking detailed stock of the situation.”

More than 15 shops were burnt to ashes before the fire brigade arrived. There were no reports of casualties in this incident, but two cattle were killed. Locals believe that the fire was caused by a cigarette.

Local residents said that a fire was first seen in a shop on Monday afternoon. Later, the fire spread to several shops and households. The entire area was covered in smoke. The fire spread over a large area. Two villages had a narrow escape.

There were tea stalls, shops, groceries, drugstores, furniture stores and houses in the market area.