India-Myanmar border sealed

The Indo-Myanmar border was sealed on Thursday after a major fire broke out late last night just across the international gate in Myanmar.

Police in Moreh in Manipur said that the fire broke out at the Namphalong market around 9 p.m. The market complex has been indefinitely closed down, a district official said.

People rushed out and sprinkled water on their houses and shops fearing the raging inferno might spread over to the Indian side.

Namphalong is the main market for the legalised border trade. It took several hours to douse the flames.

However, no casualty has been reported. Over 30 shops and business establishments were gutted, Namphalong officials said.

The shops mostly stockpile expensive foreign goods brought from China, Japan and some other Southeast Asian countries. The loss was believed to be huge.

The cause of the fire was not yet known.

Business was shifted from Moreh to Namphalong following the legalisation of the border trade in 1995.

--IANS

il/in