A fire that broke out at Kapasia Bazar in Gazipur early on Sunday damaged eight shops and a house, with losses initially estimated at around Tk1 crore.
The fire broke out at Masjid Market in Kapasia Bazar at around 3:45am. The Fire Service suspects the blaze was caused by an electrical short circuit.
Saiful Islam Shaheen, general secretary of the Kapasia Bazar Traders Association, said Abdul Qayyum suffered losses of around Tk20 lakh from two shops, while Azahar Ali's clothing shop incurred losses of Tk15 lakh.
He said Sarwar Hossain's clothing shop sustained losses of Tk25 lakh, Sabir's clothing shop Tk20 lakh, and Abul Kashem's house around Tk10 lakh.
Although some goods were salvaged from Mohammad Russell's power shop, losses there were estimated at around Tk5 lakh. Goods worth about Tk2 lakh were also destroyed in the Sipur warehouse.
The fire also partially damaged the Kapasia Bazar Jame Mosque.
Mahfuzur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Kapasia Fire Service, said four firefighting units from Kapasia and Rajendrapur rushed to the scene after receiving the alarm.
With assistance from traders and local residents, firefighters brought the blaze under control at around 6am after nearly two hours of effort.
He said goods from at least eight shops, including clothing and other businesses, were destroyed in the fire. The total damage is initially estimated at more than Tk1 crore.
The fire service, police and leaders of the market traders' association are investigating the cause of the fire and assessing the exact extent of the losses.
