Sugarcane on 15 acres gutted in fire

A fire gutted sugarcane on at least 15 acres of land of Shahebganj farm belonging to Rangpur Sugar Mills in Gaibandha district on Sunday afternoon.

The loss caused by the fire could go up to Tk 5 lakh, said  mill officials.

The fire originated from an unknown source and spread rapidly to adjoining fields. On information, four units of fire fighters from Gaibandha, Gobindaganj, Sonatola and Ghoraghat rushed to the spot and doused the fire after three hours of frantic efforts.

Deputy Commissioner Abdul Matin and Superintendent of Police Abdul Mannan Mia visited the spot. Police are investigating the matter and trying to find out the reason behind the fire incident.

Anwar Hossain Akanda, managing director of the sugar mill, said they are yet to identify the reason of the fire. They will investigate the matter.

Sugarcane was cultivated on 1000 acres of land in Shahebganj cane farm as input for the sugar mill this crushing season, said Anwar.

They have already harvested all the burning cane from the field and rushed them to the mill compound for crushing, which will help to reduce probable losses, he added.

A case was filed with Gobindaganj Police Station in the connection, he said.