At least 50 houses in a slum near Biju Patnaik Park here today were destroyed in a fire which broke but there was no report of any casualty, police said.
Properties worth around Rs 21 lakh was gutted in the fire, Fire Brigade sources said.
At least four fire fighters along with 17 fire tenders took around two hours to control the blaze.
"The intensity of the fire is very severe. At least four LPG cylinders exploded in the fire accident", said assistant fire officer, Berhampur, Sanatan Mohapatra.
He said the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
"We suspected the fire due to leakage of the cooking gas from a house", he said.
The district administration has arranged two nearby schools for temporary accommodation of the victims. The victims will be provided foods, said sub-collector of Berhampur, Sdharth Shankar Swain.
Berhampur MLA R Ch Chyaupatnaik, former Union minister and senior Congress leader Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Berhampur Mayor K Madhavi also rushed to the spot.
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