SHANGLA: Around 10 shops were gutted in Shangla Dehrai bazaar when fire broke out in one of the shops on Wednesday night, reducing goods and machines to ashes.

Shangla police spokesperson Umar Rehman said that the fire erupted in one of the shops in Sherbaz Market at Dehrai bazaar of Alpuri tehsil which quickly engulfed the entire market having wooden roof.

Though locals and Rescue 1122 personnel made efforts to extinguish fire, the police official said that 10 shops of cloth, mobile phones and electric appliances were gutted as a result of the blaze besides a motorcycle parked nearby.

One of the affected persons, Shafiur Rehman, told this correspondent that he had recently brought cloth for winter season which had been gutted.

“I had borrowed Rs300,000 for opening the shop and now I would not be able to rehabilitate my business again,” he said.

Sherbaz, the market owner, said that it was his whole earning with which he had constructed this small market. He said his market had been gutted along the traders’ goods, resulting in heavy losses for them.

They appealed to the government to help them financially so they could rebuild shops and restore their businesses. The police officials estimated the losses from Rs1.5 million to Rs2.5 million of each shopkeeper in the fire incident. They have lodged a report to investigate the matter.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2022