Revamped Bagree Market inaugurated; fitted with fire-fighting systems

KOLKATA: Firhad Hakim, Chairman of Board of Administrators, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, on Tuesday inaugurated the renovated Bagree Market, where a fire had blazed for over 100 hours three years ago.

"Today, Bagree Market has taken a new birth with a new look. Under the instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, we have provided all support to rebuild the market," said Hakim, during the inauguration ceremony. State fire minister Sujit Bose and Jorasanko MLA Vivek Gupta were also present on the occasion.

The newly renovated market consists of 50,000 litre reservoir, fire fighting system with fire pumps, smoke detection equipment and sprinklers, two fire- fighting personnel employed, spacious corridors with no encroachment, separate electrical panels for different floors, stone-paved brightly lit stair cases and separate washrooms for men and women.

The market, having 1022 shops that caught fire in September 2018, is situated at Canning Street and divided into eight blocks (A to H block). The total money spent on renovation work was Rs 22 crore (contributed by the shop and godown owners of the market).

While Rs 15 crore was spent on reconstructing A Block that was entirely engulfed by the fire, the remaining portion of the market was revamped and opened for business on April 15, 2019.

"One lakh litre overhead reservoir has also been installed at the market," said Bose.

The severely damaged portion of the market facing Canning Street was supervised by the engineers from IIT Roorkee. The execution was done by a specialised firm from Baroda.

"Now onwards, all the shop owners will have to follow market and fire safety guidelines. SOPs will be put up in different places in the market," said Ashutosh Singh, president of Bagree Market Central Kolkata Traders' Welfare

Association.