A devastating fire has burnt around 5,000 bighas of betel leaf orchard to ashes at Bheramara upazila in Kushtia district on Sunday.
The fire broke out at Raita Patharghata area around 11.00am and engulfed to adjacent orchards at Gosaipara, Madhabpur, Nischintapur areas soon.
On information, eight units of fire service personnel from adjacent fire stations rushed to the spot and tried to bring the blaze under control but failed till 4pm.
Later, three more firefighting units from Kushtia Sadar, Mirpur, and Ishwardi fire stations joined with them and managed to doused the blaze around 5pm, said Jane Alam, assistant director of Kushtia Fire Service Department.
The blaze spread out to the whole area easily as the most of the orchards were made of jute sticks and due to the strong wind, he said.
Locals claimed that a few thousands of betel leaf orchard, worth around Tk 50 crore have destroyed in the fire.
Bheramara Fire Service Station officer Shariful Islam said the origin of the fire and assess of the damage could not be ascertained yet.
However, no casualties were reported in this incident, added the fire service official.
