Shop gutted in fire at Digboi, Property worth more than one lakh destroyed

Our correspondent

DIGBOI: Property worth more than one lakh was destroyed in a devastating fire that broke out here on Thursday late evening at a government fair price shop at Powai Bazaar near public bus stand under Digboi Police station. The fire engulfed the entire shop burning all the commodities into cinders. Property worth more than one lakh against the commodities stored for public distribution system including rice and SK Oil was destroyed in the fire mishap.

“The shop which also had a pan dala in it was lit by candle following the run-out of the inverter when the mishap occurred the fateful night at around 8.45 pm,” said a shopkeeper of the bazaar. The fair price shop was run by one Sudesh Chetry who had hired the premises on a rental basis a couple of months back.

Meanwhile, the local residents and shopkeepers swung into action immediately and helped to douse the fire much before the arrival of the fire tenders from AOD Digboi and nearby Margherita Coal India Limited. “Though article for sale and commodities stored in the shop couldn’t be recovered yet the timely efforts of the local people averted large scale damage to nearby Powai tea garden quarters and shops along the Highway,” said Ganesh Chetry an active VDP member of the area. “The loss of documents of the to-be renewed beneficiaries and new applicants have been a matter of concern,” said one of the local applicants who had applied for updating his PDS ration card with the vendor. The reasons leading to the outbreak of the fire is yet to be ascertained. The estimate of damage was being assessed till filing this report.

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