Kendrapada: Former Odisha Minister Bijoy Mohapatra’s house was gutted in a fire at his village in Garadpur block of Odisha’s Kendrapada district on Monday.
The fire broke out in the senior BJP leader’s house with a thatched roof at Talakusuma in the afternoon and the blaze spread rapidly engulfing the entire structure within minutes, villagers said.
No one was injured in the incident, while several valuable items including furniture were damaged, sources said.
On being informed, two fire tenders rushed to the site and doused the flame. Stating that the blaze has been fully controlled, R Nanda of the fire services said the fire was stated to have been triggered due to an electric short circuit, but the exact cause is yet to be ascertained.
Several valuables, furniture and house structures were damaged in the fire and the exact damage will be assessed after a thorough survey, he said.
“Some villagers first noticed smoke billowing out of the house and fire spread rapidly. Many people gathered at the house immediately to douse the flame and informed the fire fighters,” said a villager.
