A major fire broke out in Baghbazar slum on Wednesday evening which left several shanties gutted. More than 20 fire tenders were rushed to the congested area in north Kolkata.
There were several explosions, most likely caused due to bursting of gas cylinders. Residents of the locality came out on the streets and some vandalised public property including police vehicles. There was a huge deployment of police and personnel of Rapid Action Force ( RAF).
The fire that raged for over two hours destroyed several slums but there was no report of any casualties. A few residents and fire fighters suffered injuries.
“The entire slum has turned into ashes. We are yet to reach the source of the blaze. We have shifted all residents of the locality. Even those from the nearby highrises have been shifted to a safer place as there were blasts. We cannot take any chance,” an officer of the Kolkata Police said.
The fire also destroyed parts of the residence Ma Sarada, consort of Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. Along with local people, and fire fighters, monks of Ramakrishna Mission also took part in bringing the fire under control. Traffic along the major arterial roads of north Kolkata was also disrupted.
“The fire is under control. There is no casualty. Fire tenders are on the spot and the process of cooling is on,” State’s Fire Minister Sujit Bose said. The Minister added that proper investigation will be carried out to ascertain the reason behind the fire.
