A total of 14 shops were gutted in a fire at Hazirpara Bazar under Lakshmipur Sadar upazila on Sunday night.
The fire originated from an electrical short-circuit in a cotton godown at 2 am and soon engulfed the adjacent shops, burning down a Thai and SS steel shop, two grocery shops, a workshop and ten other shops.
Being informed, firefighters from Lakshmipur Fire Service and Civil Defence rushed to the spot and doused the blaze under control with the help of locals after an hour of frantic efforts.
Lakshmipur Fire Station Officer Ranjit Kumar Das said the work of assessing the damage is underway. But the victims claimed the loss in the fire was estimated at about Taka one crore, he added.
