A fire ripped through a fish market in Odisha’s Cuttack, gutting over 30 shops and damaging a bank branch in the same building. Fire services officials said the blaze, which broke out around 2am on Monday in the Press Chhak area of Cuttack, spread rapidly through the congested market area after a paint godown inside the decades-old building caught fire, allegedly due to a short circuit.The fire first engulfed the fish market on the ground floor and spread to the upper floors. (ANI)Traders claimed cash worth between ₹50 lakh and ₹60 lakh was destroyed in the fire. Several bundles of notes belonging to traders, and stored for payments and business operations, were completely charred.The fire first engulfed the fish market on the ground floor and spread to the upper floors, including a Bank of India branch, raising concerns over damage to documents, furniture, records, and other assets. The bank branch was left damaged, though the exact extent of the loss is yet to be assessed.According to preliminary estimates, around 17 fish traders who operated from the market suffered extensive losses, with deep freezers, stock of fish, and equipment reduced to ashes. Some traders said they had kept cash as banks remained closed and payments to suppliers were due the following day.“One trader alone lost nearly ₹14 lakh in his shop. Ledger books worth ₹30-40 lakh in pending transactions were also destroyed,” a trader said, adding that many had spent over three decades building their businesses in the market.At least 10 to 12 fire tenders and over 25 fire service personnel were deployed, but narrow lanes and the congested location hampered access to the building. Dense smoke continued to billow from the premises for hours, making it difficult for firefighters to enter and contain the blaze.Officials said inflammable materials such as paints and colours stored inside the building accelerated the spread of the fire. To access the affected portions, emergency teams used machines to break parts of the structure.