A major fire broke out at a bicycle shop located at Vishwakarma Chowk in Bihariganj block headquarters, Madhepura district, on Thursday evening around 8:30 PM. The fire completely gutted all the goods worth lakhs of rupees kept in the shop, causing panic in the area.

According to information, the sheet-metal shop, situated in Suresh Mahto's house at Vishwakarma Chowk, was run by Lalo Mukhiya, a resident of Tararahi village in Mohanpur Panchayat. Due to bad weather, Lalo Mukhiya had closed his shop and left for home around 7:30 PM. Shortly after, the shop suddenly caught fire. On seeing strong flames emanating from the shop, nearby shopkeepers raised an alarm.

Upon receiving information about the fire, youths from Jhankar Group and local residents rushed to the spot and attempted to extinguish the flames. Two small fire tenders also arrived. After considerable effort, the fire was brought under control. Initial investigations suggest an electrical short circuit as the cause of the fire.

In this incident, all the bicycles and other goods in the shop were completely destroyed. The exact extent of the damage has not yet been estimated. The prompt action by local residents and the fire brigade prevented the fire from spreading to the densely populated surrounding area, averting a larger disaster. CO Avinash Kumar stated that compensation would be provided to the victim as per rules after receiving the investigation report from the revenue official. It is worth noting that on Wednesday morning, more than a dozen shops were gutted in a fierce fire at General Haat in Bihariganj market, with estimated losses exceeding crores.