BARAMULLA: At least twenty two shops were gutted inside an army camp in Nowgam area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday night.
Police sources said that fire broke out in a double story shopping complex in army’s 17 infantry brigade camp at Lawoosa in Mawar area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district due to which at least 22 shops gutted completely and goods worth lakhs of rupees damaged. They said fire broke out around 11 pm on Wednesday night from a shop and it engulfed other shops in the building, as the army and police doused the flames, it could not save the building. In the incident some other buildings also suffered minor damage.
The sources said that there were around two dozen shops in the wooden building in which around 22 shops of different kinds existed and were damaged . The burning gas cylinders and batteries impeded the dousing the flames and the fire was controlled after hours of struggle.
“The shops are the only source of income and we were doing a good business inside the army camp and it is not less than a shock for us, now the army authorities and government should compensate the shopkeepers so that we can restart our business” a victim shopkeeper told media men in the morning.

Reader correspondent