Carpet factory, 200 shanties gutted in Chittagong
A fire guts over two hundred shanties and six shops at Bastuhara Colony in Bakolia of Chittagong city yesterday.Photo: STAR
Finished carpets worth Tk five lakh were gutted in a fire at a state-owned carpet factory in Chittagong yesterday while over 200 tin-shed houses and six shops were reduced to ashes in Bakolia area on Saturday. Our Staff Correspondent in Chittagong quoting sources said the fire originating from electric short circuit broke out at a tin-shed godown of Dhaka-Baghdad Carpet Factory Limited at around 9:20am. Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation Limited owns the factory, said the sources. Six fire fighting units from two fire stations of the city rushed to the spot and doused the blaze at around 11:45am. At Bakolia, more than 200 tin-shed houses, six shops and property worth around Tk 20 lakh were gutted on Saturday afternoon. Fire Service and Civil Defence sources said the fire broke out at a house of Bakolia Bastuhara Bahumukhi Samabay Samity colony at around 12:15pm and soon engulfed the whole area rendering over 1,000 people homeless. Thirteen fire fighting units from different fire stations of the city rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire that originated from an earthen oven after a four-hour battle, said Chittagong Fire Service and Civil Defence assistant director Nurul Haque. Two firemen-Ujjawal Barua and Jahangir Alam- were injured while fighting fire, he informed. Damages in the fire were estimated at Tk 20 lakh, he added. In Sherpur district, a fierce fire gutted at least 22 shops at Panchgaon Bazaar in Nalitabari upazila on Saturday night. UNB quoting fire brigade sources said, the fire originated from an electric short circuit at Shamsul Haque Member's grocery shop at around 11:30 pm and soon engulfed 21 other adjacent shops. The affected shop owners claimed that the losses caused from fire could go upto Tk 30 lakh. In Sirajganj, a mother and her four-month-old daughter were burnt alive in a devastating fire at Chhongachha village early Wednesday. Earlier, a cotton godown and at least 32 shops were gutted in Thakurgaon, Chittagong and Netrakona on Monday and Sunday last. The victims of Sirajganj fire were identified as Sokhiton Begum, 30, wife of Nazrul Islam of Chhongachha village and Sokhiton's four-month-old daughter Subarna Khatun, reports our correspondent. Police, fire fighters and locals said the incident took place at around 1:30am when the victims were sleeping in their bedroom.
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