KOLKATA: Several shops were gutted in a devastating fire on Tuesday in a market area in South Kolkata's Bagha Jatin area. According to initial estimates, 15 shops have been gutted in the fire. However, no casualties have been reported so far.
Insiders from the State Fire Services Department said the fire first broke out in a shop in the market, and it then quickly spread to several nearby shops. “A total of 15 fire tenders immediately rushed to the spot, and it took almost three hours to bring the fire under control. The fire is totally under control now,” the fire department official said.
It is learnt that the cops of the local Netaji Nagar Police Station reached the spot after receiving the news of the fire in the morning. The State Fire Services Department was also informed immediately. As the intensity of the fire increased, the number of fire tenders deputed at the spot was also increased.
Finally, 15 fire tenders brought the fire under control. The firefighters were also active in preventing the fire from spreading to other parts of the market.
Initially, as per the state fire department officials, the fire broke out in a shop where puja items were kept for sale. “It is believed that the fire broke out at that shop around 4 a.m. this morning. However, it is still not what caused the fire at that particular shop. Initial estimate is that a total of 15 shops have been gutted... However, the exact quantum of loss can be estimated later after thorough investigation,” the official present at the spot said.
The fire disrupted traffic on Raja SC Mallick Road connecting Garia and Jadavpur. Police are at the spot to control the situation. No casualties have been reported in the fire yet.
Several traders rushed to Baghajatin Bazar after receiving the news of the fire in the morning. Many were devastated after losing everything during the puja. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Jadavpur, Sharbari Mukherjee, was also at the spot.