QUETTA: More than 50 stalls and two shops reduced to ashes after a fire broke out in a market near Taro Chowk intersection in Pashtoonabad area of Quetta.

Police said the fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday when the Bazaar was closed on account of Eid holidays.

Fire started in a stall set up in front of a marl(et and engulfed other stalls and shops. A fire brigade of the Quetta MetropolitanCorporation was sent to the site after receiving information.

Fireman initially faced difficulty in putting out the fire due to blowing wilds in Quetta valley. However, it was finally brought under control after three hours.

`Fifty-five stalls and two shops were gutted in the fire,` a senior police officer said.

According to initial investigation, the fire broke out due to a short circuit, he said.

Police said that according to a nightwatchman, the fire startedat around 4:30am and then spread within half an hour to other stalls. Most of the stalls were of cloth, cosmetics and other items.

Owners of the stalls protested over the incident and asked the government for a compensation.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo took notice of the incident and ordered an inquiry into the incident.

He said the government would take steps to compensate the losses of stall owners.