By DPA
Kolkata : A devastating fire broke out at an unauthorized leather processing workshop on the eastern fringes of Kolkata Wednesday morning.
“The fire has been brought under control after two hours of fire fighting. The factory was totally unauthorized and no fire extinguishing arrangement was available there,” West Bengal Fire Services Director Gopal Bhattacharya told IANS.
“Altogether 20 fire tenders were pressed into service. No casualty was reported in the incident,” he said.
He said the fire service department will lodge a police complaint against the owner of the leather factory and would also order an investigation into the incident.
The fire broke out at Colour India, the leather factory located on Radhanath Chowdhury Road at Tangra.
“The fire spread quickly since a huge quantity of inflammable substances were stored in the factory,” Bhattacharya said. There was also water shortage and the fire brigade had to depend on its own resources.
Tangra, a thickly congested pocket in east Kolkata, is traditionally known for housing a large number of tanneries. Over the past few decades, it has served as the location for Kolkata’s China Town.
A number of Chinese people, who have specialised in leather work and run made-to-order shoe shops, live there.
“Around 10.30 a.m. we suddenly saw thick smoke spiralling out from the leather factory. We immediately informed the fire brigade. The fire could not spread out in the locality as the entire leather complex was fenced off by a tall guard wall,” a local resident said.
He said this is the third incident in last 10 years when the leather complex caught fire due to inflammable substances.