GUWAHATI, Dec 26 - Two shops were gutted after a fire broke out at Bhangagarh near the old building of Nemcare Hospital today.
A fire department official said that a call was received around 2.30 pm about the incident. Ten fire-tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire.
According to the official, the fire broke out at an eatery named Gunjan Sweets and the flames soon engulfed shops in its vicinity. No injury was reported.
�The Nemcare Hospital authority took immediate initiative to douse the fire with fire-fighting equipment. By that time, fire-tenders reached the spot and started dousing the fire. It took nearly an hour to control the blaze. The fire gutted the eatery and another stall. Such was the intensity of smoke that panic gripped the area and many people nearby fled the spot,� the official said.
The hospital authority also shifted their patients to the new building. There were 77 patients in the old building of the hospital at the time of the incident.
Officer-in-charge of the Bhangagarh Police Station Khargeswar Rabha said, �We are yet to ascertain the cause of the fire. Monetary damages are being assessed with the help of the owners of the eatery. We are cross-checking all the details, whether the shop had maintained all the fire-safety norms, etc.�
