Purussotampur: A major fire broke out at the Tara Tarini shrine here in Ganjam district Tuesday afternoon when a large number of devotees had gathered inside the temple premises on the occasion of Maha Saptami.
However, no casualties were reported during the mishap, sources said.
Sources said that the fire broke out in a room called ‘Dipagruha’ (a place for lighting earthen lamps) where the devotees observing penance for the Shola puja and Navaratri festivals had lighted lamps.
No major loss of property was reported, except for the doors and windows that caught fire and were destroyed.
On being informed, fire personnel from Purussotampur led by fire officer Uma Charan Bhattmishra reached the spot and doused the fire before it could spread further.
According to the devotees, the fire could be a bad omen and may have occurred owing to some mistakes during the rituals in the temple.
Purussotampur tehsildar Nitish Kumar Tripathy visited the spot and took stock of the situation.
PNN