Berhampur: E-bike showroom catches fire

Berhampur: A fire broke out at an e-bike showroom at Aska Road here on Friday. About 125 e-bikes were stored in the EV showroom and 40 of them were completely damaged in the fire, sources said. The loss due to the fire is estimated to be more than Rs 80 lakh.

A tea stall owner in front of the showroom saw smoke coming out of the second floor. The owner of the showroom, Gouri Mahapatra and his son Prasant Mahapatra, immediately rushed to the spot. Three fire tenders controlled the fire which took them one hour.

The Fire Station Officer, Pradip Patnaik, said the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit in the servicing centre. “We were alerted by the owner of the showroom at 8.10 am. The entire building was filled with e-bikes. There were heaps of fibre and second-hand vehicles on the second floor and the fire spread to the first floor. We faced many diffi-culties in extinguishing the fire,” he said.