A Correspondent
BOKAJAN: At least five shops were burnt to ashes after a devastating fire broke out in the Lahorijan area of the Assam-Nagaland border on Wednesday afternoon. The fire spread to the nearby buildings and caused panic and apprehension among the residents.
The burnt establishments included a garments store, a hardware shop, a mobile repairing centre and a grocery store. Property worth several crores was damaged in the fire. Shops and residence on the either sides of the area were also affected.
Two fire-fighting vehicles and a dozen fire tenders from the Nagaland Fire and Emergency Services battled the blaze and doused off the flames. The Assam counterpart reached only after the fire was brought under control. Preliminary investigation suggests that the fire might have been caused by an electric short circuit. No casualties have been reported till the filing of this report.
The incident also exposed the lack of disaster readiness of the Assam state fire fighting agency which caused inordinate delay in reaching the spot after the fire was reported. "Had the fire tenders from Nagaland not come on time and controlled the fire, it could have engulfed and burnt down the entire area," a resident said.