At least seven shops were reduced to ashes in a fire that broke out at Amtali upazila in Barguna district.
The incident occurred at Maitha Bazar under Amatali union in the upazila on Wednesday night (March 26).
The fire started from an electric short circuit in a grocery store which also contained petrol, diesel and gas cylinders. The fire quickly spread to nearby shops.
With the help of the locals, Firefighters brought the fire under control after about two hours. By then, a total of seven shops had been completely burnt down.
The affected claimed a loss of nearly Tk 60 lakh in cash and property due to the fire.
Milon Gazi, a victim, stated, "My shop, along with all the goods inside, has completely burnt down. I have incurred a loss of around Tk 20 to 25 lakh. I have nothing left."
Amatali Upazila Fire Service Warehouse inspector Md. Hanif mentioned that on information, they quickly reached the site and with local assistance, managed to control the fire after nearly two hours.
Amatali Union Parishad Chairman Md Zahidul Islam Mithu Mridha and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mohammad Ashraful Alam visited the scene on Thursday
UNO Mohammad Ashraful Alam said that governmental assistance will be provided to those affected by the fire.
SK/SH
