Massive fire in Assam's Jorhat brought under control, over 200 shops gutted
Jorhat (PTI): More than 200 shops have been gutted in a massive fire that engulfed a bazaar in Assam's Jorhat district, officials said.
The blaze that broke out late on Thursday evening at Chowk Bazaar, in the heart of Jorhat town, has largely been brought under control, with fire-fighters still working to douse pockets of flames, they said.
Over 25 fire tenders were rushed to the bazaar to fight the flames, which is suspected to have been caused by an electrical short circuit at a shop, the officials said.
There has been no report of any casualty as all shops were closed with owners and staff having left for their homes, a police officer said.
The shops that were damaged mostly sold grocery items and clothes, he said.
Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management Jogen Mohan has reached the spot, and assessment of losses will be made during the day, the officer added.
This is the second such incident in Jorhat in two months. A major fire in December had gutted several shops in Marwari Patty area.
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Anura Dissanayake wins Sri Lanka's presidential election
Colombo (PTI): Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Sunday was declared winner of the Sri Lankan presidential election by the country's Election Commission after an unprecedented second round of counting of votes.
Dissanayake, 56, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party's broader front National People’s Power (NPP), defeated his closest rival Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe was eliminated in the first round after he failed to become within the top two in the vote list.
NPP said Dissanayake will take oath on Monday.
Earlier, the Election Commission ordered a second round of counting after no candidate secured over 50 per cent votes needed to be declared the winner of Saturday's election.
Dissanayake will be the country's 9th president.
No election in Sri Lanka has ever progressed to the second round of counting, as single candidates have always emerged as clear winners based on first-preference votes.
