44 shops gutted in 4 districts

At least 44 shops have been gutted in fire incidents in four districts.
In Jamalpur, at least 23 shops were gutted in a devastating fire at Mahmudpur Bazaar in Melandaha upazila early yesterday.
UNB quoting locals said the blaze originated from an electric short circuit at a shop and soon engulfed the other adjoining establishments at about 2:30am.
Fire service men extinguished the blaze after three hours of frantic efforts with the help of local people.
The affected shop owners claimed that goods worth about Tk 50 lakh were gutted in the blaze.
In Gopalganj, nine shops were gutted in a devastating fire at a market near Sheikh Kamal Stadium in the district town early yesterday.
Locals said, the fire originated from the oven at a hotel of the market of Muslim Orphanage at about 3:00am.
On information, two units of local fire service rushed in and put out the blaze after an hour long efforts.
Eight shops were gutted completely while another partially in the incident.
The affected businessmen estimated the extent of loss from the fire at Tk 20 lakh.
In another fire incident in Laxmipur early Sunday, five shops were gutted at local Dighir Paral Bazaar in Ramganj upazila.
Locals suspected that rivals might have set fire to the shops late at night due to enmity.
On information, a firefighting unit from Sadar upazila headquarters rushed in and doused the fire after two hours of hectic efforts with the help of local people.
The victim shop owners claimed that the extent of loss from the fire could go upto Tk 15 lakh.
In Bogra, a fire at Koritola Bazaar in Sariakandi upazila gutted seven shops on Friday night.
Witnesses said the fire broke out from a grocery shop in the market at midnight and soon engulfed six other adjoining shops.
Locals doused the fire after one hour of frantic efforts.
The victims claimed that the extent of loss from the fire could go upto Tk 8 lakh.