Fire engulfs 13 shops at Sandhya Bazar, none hurt

Kolkata: A major fire broke out at the Sandhya Bazar at Lords Bakery Mor on Sunday morning.

At least 13 shops were reduced to ashes due to the impact of the fire. Fortunately, there were no casualties and no one was hurt in the incident.

Fire fighters suspect that the fire occurred due to short circuit. However, some local residents allege that the market might have been set on fire by some persons because of their vested interest.

According to sources, around 4 am on Sunday some local residents experienced a strong burning smell while they were sleeping. When some of them went to check what happened they saw the market was ablaze. Immediately, Jadavpur police station and fire brigade were informed. Soon, five fire tenders were pressed in to action. But as the intensity of the fire was quite high and it was spreading, five more fire tenders were called.

The fire was controlled approximately after two hours later. But till then several shops were burnt completely. Fire fighters had faced some problem controlling the fire due to inflammable articles stored inside the shops. Mainly there were some shops where furniture accessories were being made. For that huge quantity of cotton was stored.

Meanwhile, some shop owners came to know about the fire and rushed to save their belongings. They alleged that earlier multiple times fire occurred in this market. Businesspersons are suspecting a foul play behind the incident though nothing could be confirmed during the preliminary investigation by the police.

Apart from furniture accessories shops, several more shops, including restaurants, chicken shop and other shops were burnt down. A cycle rickshaw also burnt due to the fire. The rickshaw puller, Shankar Halder, expressed his fear that how he will bear the expenses of his family now as the rickshaw was the only source from which he used to earn.

Local sources informed that this market has been set up unofficially a long time ago. As the market was not a legal one, it had no permissions or clearance and as a result no fire fighting management system was in place. It is suspected that the amount of damage might reach nearly several lakhs of rupees as shop owners had stored material keeping Poila Boisakh in mind. The cause of fire is yet to be ascertained. After the fire doused completely, Kolkata Municipal Corporation workers cleared the spot.