The Fire department suspects short-circuit in one of the electricity meters to have caused the fire.

“We got a call from a watchman around 4 am and rushed to the spot. With flames and smoke all over, it was almost impossible for us to enter the basement. We had to break a wall and make way for our men and equipment,” said a fireman posted at the Sector 17 fire station. It took the fire brigade almost three hours to bring the blaze under control.

While all 22 cabins were damaged, a photocopier shop, a courier service cabin and a boutique suffered maximum losses.

Laxman, who runs Bisht Enterprises, a courier service shop, said: “I got a call from a fireman who must have read my contact number pasted on the door to the basement. I reached there immediately but by the time they managed to extinguish the fire, everything was destroyed.”