Several shops gutted in massive fire along Dal Lake

Over a dozen shops were gutted in a massive fire outside a famous Mughal garden along the banks of the Dal Lake here early today, officials said.
The fire broke out in the market outside the main gate of Shalimar garden around 3.28 am, resulting in damage to 15 shed-type shops mostly dealing in handicrafts and fast food, a spokesman of the Fire and Emergency Services told PTI here.
Two other shops suffered damages due to pouring of water, he said and put the loss in the incident to around Rs 40 lakh.
"Property worth Rs 1.12 crore was involved in the fire but due to the timely action by the department, the loss was restricted to around Rs 40 lakh," the spokesman said.

He said eight fire stations were pressed into service to put off the fire, the cause of which was not known immediately.
In another fire incident, a police spokesman said a middle school building was gutted at Kalipora village of Vilgam in Handwara area of north Kashmir's Kupwara district in the wee hours today.
Police is investigating the cause of the fire, he said.