At least 20 houses were gutted in a fire at the Ulasi-Gilpol government housing project in Sharsha upazila on Wednesday night.
The fire originated from the kitchen of a house around 11 pm and soon engulfed the adjacent houses, said Jahangir Hossain, station officer of Benapole Fire Service.
On information, two units of firefighters from Benapole and Jhikargacha fire stations rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after one and a half hours of frantic efforts.
"Initially, we estimated a loss of Tk 1 crore from the fire, said the fire official.
On information, Sharsha Upazila Chairman Sirajul Haque Manju, Sharsha Upazila Nirbahi Officer Pulak Kumar Mandal, Ulaashi Union Parishad Chairman Alhaj Ainal Haque and Upazila Project Implementation Officer Laltu Mia visited the spot.
Each affected family got some 15 kilograms of rice, two kilograms of daal, two kilograms of potatoes, one blanket and Tk 900 in cash from the upazila administration.