Inferno razes down about 60 shanties, CM asks officials to distribute relief materials

Kolkata: Around 60 shanties were burnt to ashes after a major fire broke out at a slum located on G J Khan Road near Data Babar Mazar in Topsia on Tuesday afternoon.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the spot and took stock of the situation in the evening. She also instructed the officials, ministers and KMC to distribute relief materials immediately.

On Tuesday around 3:30 pm the fire broke out at the slum. Local people noticed smoke coming out of a shanty and alerted the other occupants of the slum. While a group of people were trying to douse the fire others evacuated the slum. But the fire started spreading due to high wind.

Meanwhile, the police and fire brigade were informed. Primarily 12 fire tenders were pressed into action. Later eight more fire tenders were sent to douse the fire as the intensity of the fire was increasing. Around 6 pm, the fire was controlled. As the slum was evacuated, no one was injured in the incident.

Chief Minister came to know about the incident while she was in the middle of the Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman at the Nabanna. She inquired about the situation from the Commissioner of Kolkata Police, Anuj Sharma. Later she instructed the ministers and MLAs to visit the spot and ensure that relief materials are distributed among the people in distress.

Apart from Banerjee, Minister of State (independent charge) for Fire and Emergency Services, Sujit Bose, Disaster Management minister, Javed Khan and Director General of Fire and Emergency Services, Jag Mohan visited the spot as well. To douse the fire, fire brigade officials have used robot fire tenders to reach the end of the slum where fire fighters were unable to reach.

The cause of fire is yet to be ascertained.