Howrah Municipal Corporation takes steps to avoid cases like Bagree Market fire

Kolkata: The Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) has set up a committee to prepare a comprehensive plan to avoid Bagree Market like incidents in any of the markets under its jurisdiction.

The top brass of the civic body held a high-level meeting a few days after the Bagree Market incident in which a devastating fire led to a huge loss of crores.

A committee has been formed headed by Mayor Dr Rathin Chakraborty. Senior officers of Howrah City Police and the state Fire and Emergency Services department are also in the committee.

The members of the committee will be visiting Mangla Market on Monday to assess its present situation. The market is situated in a congested area at Howrah Maidan. It is one of the biggest wholesale market in the district where thousands of people go everyday. Moreover, a weekly market is also set up on every Tuesday at the same location and footfall in the area goes up by manifold.

It may be mentioned that a preliminary report was prepared jointly by the police and the civic authorities in connection with Mangla Market.

There were a series of discussions over the steps those need to be taken for renovation of the market and ensure the presence of proper fire fighting mechanism.

Now, the civic authorities are working together with the officers of the state Fire and Emergency Services department to avert incidents of fire in markets across the city including major ones like Mangla Market.

Dr Chakraborty said: "A committee has been set up to assess the situation and prepare a report based on which subsequent steps would be taken to avoid fire incidents in market places."

He further said: "We will also visit Mangla Market on Monday to inspect its present condition and necessary steps would be taken to ensure safety and security of both the traders and consumers."

It may be mentioned that there are hundreds of shops in the market, mostly garments and cloths. As a result, the shops and godowns remain packed with inflammable goods most of the time.

"Hence, there is a need to take immediate steps and create awareness among traders to maintain fire safety measures. Besides taking necessary steps, the HMC authorities will also urge the traders in the market to follow the set guidelines to avert any untoward incidents," said a senior official of the

civic body.