Fire guts 50 shanties, 'jhut' warehouses in Narayanganj

At least 50 shanties and jhut (garment factory scraps) warehouses were burned in a fire that broke out at a slum in Narayanganj city early today.

The fire originated from a house in the slum beside Isdair bazar around 2:30am and spread rapidly, burning 50 structures which included at least 15 'jhut'  warehouses, said Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defence in Narayanganj.

Seven firefighting units put the blaze out around 4:00am, our Narayanganj correspondent reports quoting the fire service official.

The fire service officials believe the fire is likely to have originated from an electric short circuit or a mosquito coil but they will confirm the matter after investigation.

Meanwhile, a jhut trader Mostak Ahmed, said there were at least 15 to 20 such warehouses in the slum and they were all burnt to ashes.