At least 12 shops and 12 other houses were gutted in a devastating fire at Hossainpur Bazar area in Kishoreganj yesterday.Kishoreganj fire service sources said the fire originated from an electric short circuit at a cotton store of one Nurul Islam at Honumantola in Hossainpur upazila around 11:00am and soon engulfed the other shops and adjacent houses. Some gas cylinder also exploded at that time.
However, none was injured in the incident.Four fire fighting units from Kishoreganj and Mymensingh rushed to the spot and  doused the blaze with the help of locals after a frantic effort of two hours.
Majibur Rahman, officer-in-charge (Investigation) of Hossainpur Police Station, said the loss caused by the fire was estimated at around Tk 2 crore.