Fire in Siliguri- around fifteen shops destroyed

Siliguri, Nov 21 : A major fire gutted around fifteen shops near a truck stand close to ward 35 under Siliguri Municipal Corporation here today.

''Around fifteen shops, including a hotel, and a party office were destroyed in the fire,'' councillor Jaidip Nandi said. Though it was yet to be estimated, locals claimed property worth Rs 20-30 lakhs were lost. Fire Brigade sources said three fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames that started at around 0600 hours. It took almost two hours to bring the blaze under control.

The fire resulted from a suspected short circuit, sources said, addding there was an illegal hoard of kerosene, petrol and diesel in the area, which might have prompted the incident.

--UNI