The fire broke out at 9 a.m. in the bazaar located 32 kilometers north of the district headquarters, according to Kumar Rai, a local.
Basanta Rai, another local, said the fire had already damaged property worth Rs 15 million.
The fire destroyed nearly two dozen houses and shops, apart from goods and furniture. Police said preliminary report pointed out that houses, shops and hotels owned by Sherjung Khatri, Rajkumar Rai, Dhruba Khadka, Devraj Shrestha, Man Bahadur Rai, Chitra Khatri, Nain Bahadur Khadka, Indra Bahadur Rai, and Manav Rai were damaged in the fire.
Police had not reached the site till Wednesday afternoon as there are no police posts nearby. The temporary police post in Murkuchi of Rauta-9 looks after the locality. But it is located even farther than the district headquarters. It is not clear what caused the fire.
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