70 huts gutted near Belgharia Expressway

Kolkata: Before the devastating fire at the plastic material factory near Ghola could be controlled, another major fire broke out at a slum adjacent to the Belgharia Expressway beside the Baranagar Railway station on Tuesday morning.

Approximately 70 huts in the slum reduced to ashes and nine fire tenders were pressed to service to douse the flames. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident.

Train services in Dankuni section had to be suspended as a safety measure. Services resumed later after obtaining necessary permissions from fire brigade. According to a source, on Tuesday around 11 am, the fire broke out at a hut in the slum. Soon it started spreading in other huts taking a devastating shape.

It is suspected that while cooking, inflammable materials caught fire at the hut. As there was high wind since morning, it spread fast. Multiple LPG cylinders in the slum started bursting one by one which further instigated the fire. This apart, a residential building adjacent to the slum got damaged in the fire. All the residents of the building were immediately evacuated.

Primarily, three fire tenders were sent at the incident site. Later, six more were pressed into service. Around 3 pm fire was controlled.

State Fire minister Sujit Bose visited the spot and said necessary actions would be taken in this regard.

As the flames went high enough to touch the railway overhead electric wires, services were suspended and vehicular movement towards Dakshineswar was stopped.

As a result, there was huge traffic congestion, which brewed trouble for daily commuters and office-goers.

After almost four hours train services were restored and Belgharia Expressway was cleared for vehicle movement.