By Our Reporter

SHILLONG: A girl’s hostel located at the top floor of a five-storey building opposite the Bawri Mansion at Dhankheti here was gutted by fire on Tuesday afternoon leaving behind a trail of destruction.

The other floors of this building which belong to E Thangkhiew and P Marbaniang were unaffected and no causalties have been reported.

A suspected case of short-circuit, this girl’s hostel was gutted by a raging fire at around 1.30 pm on Tuesday and along with it engulfed every possession of the students including their college books and belongings.

“With the examinations knocking at my door, I don’t know how I’ll manage to get the books and reference from”, a student of this hostel rued.

Eyewitnesses stated that despite the short distant ride from Fire Brigade to Dhankheti, it however took the fire tenders to reach the spot twenty minutes after the fire broke out.

When enquired about the total damage, a senior police official said the damage caused is yet to be ascertained.

The other floors which were not damaged by fire were given on rent for commercial activities.