 Khulna Correspondent:
A massive fire broke out at Picture Palace intersection, the commercial hub of Khulna city. A temporary market was completely gutted in the incident early Wednesday morning. Ten units of the fire service tried for hours to bring the fire under control.
Eyewitnesses and victims said that a shop in the market suddenly caught fire after 5 am. At that time, sleeping employees of various shops started running around. The fire spread quickly in a very short time. All the shops in the market were completely gutted by the intense flames of the fire. A total of 10 units of the fire brigade reached the spot after receiving the information. The fire was brought under control after hours of relentless efforts by firefighters using water from the pond in Shaheed Hadis Park in the city.
The traders said that they had been doing business for a year by setting up shops under the name ‘Picture Palace Super Market’ on the land of the demolished Picture Palace Hall. There were all kinds of risks in the incompletely planned market. When the fire broke out in the early hours of the morning, traders quickly came out. The fire spread to every shop. Most of the goods were burnt in the fire.
Local people said that 44 small temporary shops were set up on the site of the demolished Picture Palace Cinema Hall a few days ago. These include clothes, cosmetics and crockery shops. The fire broke out in these shops at around 5:15 am.
All the shops were full of goods and products on the occasion of the upcoming Eid. Traders claimed that they had suffered losses worth several crores of taka. Many traders were seen crying and wailing that everything they owned was gone. However, the cause of the fire was not known till the last news was received. Many present expressed fear that the fire started from mosquito coils.
Fire Service Khulna Deputy Assistant Director Abu Bakar Zaman said that after receiving the news of the fire, their 10 units started working to control the fire from 5:30 am. The fire was brought under control at 6:10 am after about 40 minutes of effort. He could not immediately say what caused the fire and the extent of the damage. However, he initially believes that the fire started from an electrical short circuit.
Khulna Sadar Police Station OC Sanwar Hossain Masum said that the police went to the spot after receiving information about the fire in the morning. Several shops were burnt to ashes in the fire.
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