Fire guts 30 shops in Mahalchhari

At least 30 shops have been badly damaged in a fire at a market in Khagrachhari's Mahalchhari upazila. The fire broke out around Thursday midnight. Firefighters from Khagrachhari Sadar upazila rushed there around 1am. It took them about three hours to extinguish the flames. Mahalchhari has no permanent fire service unit. Mahalchhari Officer-in-Charge (OC) Samayun Kabir said the fire service initially suspected that the fire had originated from a bakery. At least 20 shops have been burnt down while 10 others have been badly damaged in the blaze, the OC said. Local businessman Anwar said the damaged shops included clothing shops, furniture shops, pharmacies, bakeries, mobile phone shops and barber shops. Initially, the damage has been estimated to be around Tk1 crore, he said.