Shimla: A pre-dawn fire tore through Kasauli’s over 100-year-old heritage market on Monday, gutting eight shops and triggering a series of gas cylinder explosions that sent panic rippling through the tourist town.The blaze broke out around 3.30am and spread rapidly across the tightly packed wooden structures, reducing shops to charred shells within minutes. Though no casualties were reported, traders suffered heavy losses as entire stocks were destroyed.The affected establishments included three gift shops, four food outlets, a sweets shop and a medical store, many of them catering to tourists visiting the hill station. Eyewitnesses said the fire intensified after multiple LPG cylinders stored inside eateries exploded one after another, making firefighting operations difficult.Four fire tenders battled the inferno for hours before bringing it under control, with assistance from Army and Air Force personnel from nearby defence establishments. The narrow lanes of the market and closely built shops hampered access, allowing the flames to spread quickly.Bhupender Singh, whose fast food shop was gutted, said the local kanoongo has estimated the overall loss across all eight shops at around Rs 3 crore.Preliminary findings suggest a short circuit as the likely cause, though officials said a detailed probe has been ordered. The local administration reached the spot and announced immediate relief of Rs 25,000 each for affected shopkeepers.
