UNB, Benapole :
At least 11 shops were gutted in a fire at Balia Vokutia Colonypara market in Jashore Sadar upazila in the early hours of Wednesday.
Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
Locals said the fire broke out at a shop in the market around 4.30am and it soon engulfed the adjoining shops.
On information, two fire tenders were pressed into service and it took them nearly an hour to douse the flames, fire service officer Khandaker Ashrafur Rahman said.
Fire officials suspect an electrical short-circuit at the first shop has triggered the fire. “The exact amount of loss could not be ascertained immediately,” he said.
Local traders, however, claimed that goods and properties worth nearly Tk 1 crore were damaged in the blaze.