Guwahati: Around 20 to 25 shops were destroyed after a fire swept through Joykrishnapur Market in Assam’s Hailakandi district late on Friday night, with losses running into several lakh rupees.
Officials and eyewitnesses said the fire was first noticed in a shop at about 1 am. Within a short time, the flames spread from one establishment to another, damaging a large section of the market.
After announcements were made through the mosque’s public address system, local residents gathered at the market and tried to stop the fire from spreading.
Their efforts, however, proved unsuccessful before Fire and Emergency Services personnel arrived and brought the blaze under control.
Residents alleged that the fire brigade reached the market nearly two hours after being informed.
Police personnel from Lala Police Station and Abdullapur Police Outpost visited the spot soon after the incident. Zila Parishad member Dilwar Hussain Barbhuiya also reached the market, raised questions over the alleged delay in the emergency response and appealed to the government to provide relief to the affected shopkeepers.
Additional Superintendent of Police Shekhar Jyoti Ray and other senior officers inspected the affected market as officials began estimating the losses caused by the fire.
The reason behind the fire has not been confirmed so far. Authorities suspect it may have been caused by either an electrical short circuit or a gas cylinder explosion.
Police are carrying out an investigation to determine how the fire started.