Incident of origination of a small firing took place in the slipper of Gorai Railway Bridge in Kushtia on Thursday.

The fire service and civil defense personnel put out the fire soon after it originated.

Abdul Halim, station officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense in Kumarkhali said locals called 999 after seeing smoke on the railway line around 8:30 am on Thursday.

Upon receiving the information from there, they went to the spot and saw a fire burning in a slipper after the first girder at the western end of the Gorai railway bridge.

He said first they let’s try to extinguish the fire by extinguisher bust. But it didn’t work. Then they put a pipe in it and extinguished it with water.

“A slipper was slightly damaged in the fire and I have informed the matter to the railway department, Halim said.

Pakshy Railway Divisional Manager Shahidul Islam said that the railway sleeper which was burnt slightly has been replaced instantly.

He said there was no problem in running the train because due to the ongoing lockdown over Covid-19, the passenger trains have stopped running and one or two freight trains are running.

However, Shahidul said the Railway’s Permanent Way Inspector (PWI) would file a case with the local police station in the wake of the fire.

How did the fire? Is there any attempt of sabotage? There is speculation about that.

Kushtia’s Kumarkhali Police Station OC Mojibur Rahman said firefighters had informed him that the visitors discarded cigarette could catch fire in the sleeper.

Details can be told after investigation.

Sources said number of people specially young often randomly visits the railway bridge located on Goria river. There no bindings are there.