Late Friday night, eight business premises were reduced to ashes when a major fire overtook Jamdaha Bekar Chowk, which is under the jurisdiction of Manikpur Police Station. In a last-ditch effort to contain the fire, firefighters from Bijni, Abhayapuri, and Kajalgaon sent out five fire engines. But the shops were eventually completely destroyed by the raging flames. According to sources, the fire may have started in a motorbike garage, and preliminary investigations point to an electrical short circuit as the most likely cause. A bike garage, a hairdresser, two seed stores, a tent house, an e-rickshaw garage, and two bamboo furniture stores are among the destroyed businesses. Shop owners and the local community are in shock over the estimated Rs 60 lakhs in losses inflicted by the fire. To ascertain the precise reason and calculate the damages, more research is being done.
