Two houses, four shops gutted in Sukhia fire

Two houses and four shops were today destroyed in a fire that broke out under mysterious circumstances at the motor stand area of Sukhia Pokhari, 21km from Darjeeling town.

The four shops used to deal in cosmetics, mobile appliances and eateries were extensions of the two houses. Four other houses in the area too were partially damaged by the blaze, which district administration officials suspect to have started from a vegetable stall in one of the houses. However, there were no reports of casualties in the incident.

“The two wooden houses where four families lived also housed shops and everything was completely destroyed in the fire that started around noon at the Sukhay Pokhari motor stand area. Four other neighbouring houses were also partially damaged but no lives were lost,” informed Gopal Rai, senior staff with the civil defence department.

Two fire tenders from Darjeeling were pressed into service to douse the inferno and it took them more than two hours to succeed with help from locals, civil defence volunteers, police and even the paramilitary force stationed at Sukhia Pokhari.

“We do not know the extent of the damage yet and have started making assessments,” said Rai when asked for further details. (EOIC)