By IANS
Kolkata : A huge fire raged through markets and buildings in congested Burrabazar here Saturday morning destroying thousands of shops and buildings, leaving thousands homeless and turning small traders into paupers overnight. There was no casualty.
The inadequacy of the fire fighting system in this eastern metropolis was laid bare, as the army, air force and the airport authorities had to be called in to control the blaze.
It was not clear how the early morning fire began but electrical short circuit was reported to be a possible cause. The flames spread across the area engulfing buildings, burning markets. A thick umbrella of noxious fumes covered the sky.
While the buildings burned, the traders and residents wailed as they lost everything to the fire. Angry residents and traders said the fire brigade men arrived late.
Burrabazar is the wholesale market area of Kolkata with clusters of unplanned and unauthorized constructions. The fire spread fast, fanned by a breeze and helped along by inflammables like plastics, polythene and garments.
“At least eight buildings were engulfed in the fire and six have been affected very badly. After Tripalpatti market (a wholesale market of plastic tarpaulin), from where the fire possibly started around 1.30 a.m., the adjacent Nandalaram market was gutted too,” police said.
“No casualty was reported. We have been able to save lives,” Kolkata Police Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborty said, as his detective department started a probe with forensic experts to ascertain the cause of the fire.
“In an old city like Kolkata, we perhaps cannot prevent this but unlike in many such fire incidents in Mumbai, here we have been able to save human lives,” Chakraborty said.
The fire raged till Saturday evening, as 42 fire engines with the firemen put up a fight with the help of their lone sophisticated aerial ladder platform. A 15-storeyed building also caught fire.
Later the fire fighting equipment and engines at the disposal of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport, the army and air force were asked for.
“The fire was tamed but not fully. We are trying our best but there was initially a problem of availability of water which was later solved,” Chakraborty said.
“We have no report of any casualty. No one was trapped inside. We ensured that,” he said.
“The whole situation is sad. There is no disaster management system in place here. If anything happens in the middle of night in Kolkata there is hardly any infrastructure to mitigate it,” said Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the spot.
“Again mysteriously the fire occurred on a Saturday night. I am clueless why all such fires in market areas occur on weekend nights. Is there a plan behind it to evict people?” asked Banerjee, not ruling out sabotage behind the incident.
West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi also reached the spot while Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharaya supervised the fire fighting for a while.
“People trading or living here never think of danger. There is no arrangement of water while the fire brigade does not have ladders tall enough,” said Bhattacharya.
West Bengal Fire Services Minister Pratim Chatterjee said the traders who had stored flammable articles illegally in the congested area were responsible for the inferno.