At least fifty shops were gutted in a fire outsidethe famous Bamleshwari temple at Dongargarh in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district today.
"The fire spread from a few shops located along the steps of thehilltop temple early in the morning," a police official said.
Nobody was injured, though goods worth lakhs of rupees were destroyed, he said.
Preliminary investigation suggested that short circuitin nearby transformer caused the fire which quickly spread to some 50 shops selling puja materials and plastic knick-knacks.
Firebrigade took three hours to douse the blaze.
Dongargarh Sub-Divisional Magistrate C L Markandey said the district administration would provide a compensation of Rs 20,000 each to the affected shop owners.
Bamleshwari temple at Dongargarh, 110 km away from the state capital Raipur, is a popular pilgrimage spot.
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