Watergam: At least twenty shops and a rented revenue department office were gutted besides property and goods worth lakhs of rupees was reduced to ashes in a midnight blaze in Watergam Rafaibabad area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
The shops, housed in a double-story old shopping complex in Watergam market in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday were completely destroyed in the fire besides goods and property worth lakhs were reduced to ashes, said a local resident.
As per the shopkeepers, the fire broke out at around 12:00 am and engulfed the whole shopping complex, damaging at least 20 shops and rented office of Revenue department- Naibat.
Sources said fire tenders were rushed from different parts of the district to control the leaping flames, clearly visible from entire town. However, there was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the incident, they said.
Confirming the fire incident, a police officer said that the cause of the fire and the loss to the property were being ascertained.
A senior officer of Fire and Emergency Department said that a massive fire was set off probably by the lightning storm in which around twenty shops were gutted.
“The shops include a revenue department rented office housing Patwar Khana, kerosene oil depot and other shops but kersoinoil shop led to substantial damage,” the officer said.
He said that four fire tenders from as many fire and emergency stations— Dangiwachi, Seelu, Rohama and Kralgund—worked in coordination to douse off the flames. “It was after hectic efforts that the fire was extinguished.”
