Devastating fire in Kolkata continues its destruction

NI Wire

Kolkata

Mon, 14 Jan 2008: 

The devastating fire is raging for the third consecutive day at the 14-storeyed Nandagram Market complex of Burrabazar – Kolkata - destroying thousands of shops, as army joined fire tenders to assist fire-fighting operation after the things went out of control from their hands.

The fire that broke out the early hours of Saturday afternoon in the market, which is considered as one of the busiest wholesale market of Kolkata, have so far gutted nearly 2,500 shops and godowns worth crores of rupees.

Around 50 fire brigades vans were carrying out operations since Saturday but it was completely difficult for them to reach the high floors with inadequate equipments and in addition the presence of diesel barrels in some of the floors of the multistoreyed building further made it worse for them. As a result the administration was forced to call for the assistance of army.

Army in Operation

Nearly 30 army firemen joined in the process of dousing flames and according to fire officials, the fire is under control and may take another 8-10 hours to complete the mission.

However, due to the generator room that caught fire on Sunday and the fire on diesel oil barrels further escalated the process.

A number of army jawans with fire-resistance suits had entered the 8th floor of the building to extinguish the burning inside but there is strong fear of collapse of the complex due to increasing heat and water pouring.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the building has started leaning to the left, which further alarmed the firemen to work cautiously. Water scarcity in the region has been another major problem putting a hurdle in drenching the fire.

Angry Locals

The angry traders in the complex have been accusing the administration for not taking concrete measures at the right time.

Police has confined the region and asked all to stay out of the area but on Monday morning angry locals attacked security personnel and even media persons in which some reporters have been reported to be injured.

The administration however is uttering a different story states that the traders themselves ignored the deteriorating building condition.

However in reality considering the age of the complex and the importance of trading activities in the building, the management had not set up any safety norms. This incident has put several questions on the government in terms of fire safety measures in a crowded market place like Burrabazar and also the illegal construction surrounding.

The time has also come to do all necessary technological upgradation in the Fire Service Department making them more able to deal with such hazard effectively.