Fire burns Rajshahi community centre

A fire broke out at a community centre in Rajshahi city yesterday, damaging its consumer electronics and furniture.

The fire originated on the ground floor of the three-storied Moonlight Garden Convention Centre and engulfed the entire floor of 4,125 square-feet around 9:00am, said Ahsanul Kabir, assistant director of Rajshahi Fire Service and Civil Defence.

Eleven air conditioners, 40 fans, dining tables and some 1,000 chairs, and wooden wall decorations were gutted by the blaze, claimed the owners.

One of the air conditioners was severely burnt which suggest that the fire might have originated from a short circuit in the home appliance, said the fire official.

The centre owner claimed that the fire damaged valuables worth around Tk 1 crore.

But, according to fire service officials, the amount of loss will not be more than Tk 40 lakh.

Four units of fire fighters and hundreds of locals doused the blaze after one-and-a-half-hours' effort, he added.

While visiting the community centre at Shaheb Bazar, this correspondent found many of its staff weeping.

“We are shocked as well as sad…. It was one of the modern community centres in the city. The fire gutted two halls housed on the ground floor,” said Abdul Gaffar, managing director of the centre.