A fire in Birtamod Municipality-4 of Jhapa on Wednesday completely destroyed an electronics shop, a pharmacy and a nearby two-storey house, causing estimated losses of around Rs 60 million. The blaze broke out near Siddhartha Hotel, and is believed to have started from an electrical short circuit on the second floor of the house belonging to Rajesh Mandal. Further details of the incident are awaited.
Three properties destroyed
The fire damaged three premises in the area: an electronics shop, a pharmacy and Mandal’s two-storey house. All three were reported to have been completely destroyed, leaving the estimated property loss at approximately Rs 60 million.
The affected buildings were located near Siddhartha Hotel in Birtamod. The available details identify the businesses and the house as the properties destroyed, but do not provide a separate estimate of the losses for each one. The overall figure remains an estimate.
The reported scale of damage makes the incident a major loss for the property owners and businesses involved. The destruction of both shops and a residence means the fire affected commercial and residential premises in the same area. No further information has been provided about the contents of the buildings or the extent of damage to nearby properties.
Suspected electrical short circuit
The fire is believed to have originated on the second floor of Mandal’s house, where an electrical short circuit is suspected. This is the reported possible cause, rather than a confirmed finding. Further information about how the fire began, or whether the cause has been formally established, was not available in the details provided.
The reported origin is significant because the blaze destroyed not only the house where it is believed to have started, but also the nearby electronics shop and pharmacy. However, the circumstances in which the fire spread between the premises have not yet been detailed.
Further details awaited
Information about the incident remains limited. Details such as the time the fire began, how long it took to bring it under control, whether anyone was injured, and what response followed were not available in the initial reports. No conclusion can be drawn from the information currently available about those aspects of the incident.
The estimated damage of around Rs 60 million is the principal measure of the fire’s impact reported so far. Any updated assessment could provide more detail on the individual losses suffered by the affected businesses and household. For now, the confirmed account is that the fire destroyed the electronics shop, pharmacy and two-storey house near Siddhartha Hotel in Birtamod-4 on Wednesday, with an electrical short circuit on the second floor of Mandal’s house suspected as the cause.
