TURA: As many as 68 shops and godowns along with three dozen shanty homes were destroyed in a major fire that broke out from a closed shop in Rongjeng market on Saturday.
Police said the incident took place around 11.20 am when the market was brimming with buyers and traders at the weekly ‘haat’ in the East Garo Hills town.
Eyewitness accounts of the inferno told police that the fire originated from a bakery shop that had been closed for the past couple of days. A short circuit causing the blaze is not being ruled out.
District authorities informed that 40 shops selling dry fish, vegetables, groceries, garments and meat were destroyed in the fire and 28 warehouses were reduced to rubble.
This is the second instance of fire in the weekly markets of Garo Hills in one week. A few days back, Jadigittim weekly market, one of the largest in south Garo Hills, had heavy damage from a late night fire.
