A suspected short circuit triggered a fire at Upper AG colony, damaging houses and shops along Kohima’s NH-29 stretch.
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KOHIMA — Several houses and commercial establishments were damaged in a fire suspected to have been caused by a short circuit at Upper AG colony along National Highway-29 in Kohima on Monday morning.
According to authorities, the fire broke out around 8.50 am, destroying two kutcha houses and causing damage to a bakery, two residential tenants, a grocery shop, a godown and a restaurant.
Manager of Cake Square bakery, Susil Konwar, told the media that the fire originated from the bakery following an electrical short circuit.
According to him, the meter box was installed outside the building while the main connection was inside. “When the meter box burnt, the fire reached the MCB and spread from underneath. We could not do anything once it started,” Konwar said.
Narrating the incident, the bakery manager said that he had gone to the ISBT at around 7 am to deliver an order and returned to the bakery at 8.50 am.
“I heard a loud sound from the meter board and went to check. When I touched the tin sheet wall, I received an electric shock. I then noticed that the electrical wires were stuck to the tin sheet,” he said.
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Konwar said that he immediately alerted the staff and everyone ran outside for safety, leaving them unable to use water to control the fire. He added that although the bakery had three fire extinguishers and one was used, the fire spread rapidly, forcing them to evacuate.
Konwar claimed that despite multiple complaints and repeated replacements, including installation of a three-phase heavy meter, the problem persisted and the meter box had burnt twice earlier. He estimated losses to bakery equipment and machinery at around INR 1.55 crore.
Manojsah and his wife Savita, who run a grocery shop and godown, saidthat they were unable to save any items. “All the goods were destroyed. We had restocked the shop on Saturday,” they said, adding that grocery items and cash worth about INR 30 lakh were lost.
Ahmed Ali, who operates a nearby restaurant, said that the fire spread suddenly while he was preparing puri (a deep-fried Indian bread). “Smoke came from the bakery and engulfed my shop. I managed to remove four gas cylinders, but the fire spread too fast,” he said.
Ali said cash amounting to around INR 2 lakh and restaurant materials worth another INR 2 lakh were destroyed.
Nagaland Fire and Emergency Services deployed several fire tenders and personnel to prevent the fire from spreading further.