Fire destroys ₹1 crore worth furniture

Dharmapuri: Furniture worth more than ₹1 crore was gutted in a fire at a shop here early on Wednesday. No casualties were reported in the incident.
The fire broke out around 1.30am and quickly spread to nearby buildings, including two banks, a private scan centre, and a silver jewellery shop.
Passersby alerted the Dharmapuri town fire station and firefighters rushed to the spot with three fire tenders.Dharmapuri municipal authorities also aided in dousing the fire by providing water in tractors.
“We doused the fire after six hours of struggle,” Dharmapuri district SP Stephan Jesubatham said after visiting the site.
Dharmapuri town police evacuated those living in houses situated behind the furniture shop.
P K Venugopal, a resident of Ganesha Theatre Street, said that thick smoke from the furniture shop spread over a half-a-kilometre radius, causing severe suffocation.As a precautionary measure, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board suspended power supply till Wednesday evening. TNN