GUWAHATI, Nov 6: Around 20 shops located at the Borbari Market in Hengerabari locality of Guwahati were reduced to ashes in a devastating fire that broke out past midnight.
Most of the shops in the market place were smaller kiosks selling meat, fruits and vegetables and other commodities of daily use.
Fire tenders arrived at the spot and it took firefighters many hours before the blaze could be brought under control.
Nobody, however, was injured since the shops were shut when the fire broke out.
The fire, shopkeepers and residents of the area said, is likely to have been the handiwork of some miscreants and ruled out short-circuit or other possible reasons that could have sparked off the flames.
“We came running here when we were told that a fire has broken out. There were some 20 shops and only my shop could be saved,” a shopkeeper who ran a hotel there said.
“The fire was deliberately set off since there were some issues between the shopkeepers. It’s an act of sabotage,” he said.
“I received a phone call around 3am and was informed about the fire. I had a fruits kiosk here. Now everything has been reduced to ashes. I had stocks worth around Rs 80,000,” another shopkeeper said. Shopkeepers said property worth many lakhs were gutted in the fire although the figure could be much higher once a detailed assessment is carried out.
