Over 300 shops were gutted down after a devastating fire broke out at Chowk Bazaar in Assam's Jorhat late on Thursday evening.

According to fire department officials, the fire started at a cloth shop located near the main gate of the market. The blazing inferno then engulfed the entire market.  

As per sources, the fire is suspected to have erupted due to a short circuit.

Following the incident, around 20 fire tenders reached the spot. Among these were fire tenders from Golaghat and Sivasagar districts. Fire fighting personnel of the OIL, ONGC, Mariani and Teok were also rushed to the spot and started the operations.

However, efforts are still underway to bring the dousing inferno under control.

According to sources, there are no reports of any injury or casualty in the incident so far.