KOLKATA: In the wake of the recent collapse of a portion of a private market building in Bowbazar, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Firhad Hakim, said that several private markets are functioning without obtaining a licence from the civic body and a safety audit of all such markets has been initiated.
With little known about the extent to which the KMC is liable in case an accident occurs in a private market building, Firhad Hakim said that the civic body has started conducting a safety audit of all the private markets in the city.
Commenting on the number of markets that belong to KMC and whether the civic body can regulate private markets in the city, he said there are about 52 municipal markets under the KMC in Kolkata. He pointed out: “As for private markets, the KMC has no power to regulate them. However, as per Section 436 of the KMC Act 1980, no place other than a municipal market shall be used as a market unless such a place has been licensed as a market by the Municipal Commissioner.” Hakim highlighted that presently many of these private markets are functioning without obtaining this licence. Such markets are not legal, he said.“We have started a fire audit that includes personnel from KMC, the Fire department and the Kolkata Police. A cell has been formed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding this where apart from me, the state Fire minister and the Kolkata Police Commissioner are members. We are sending people from the respective departments to these private markets for conducting safety and security audits. This includes checking for fire hazards. Very soon a report will be published on this,” he assured.
Hakim said that private market building owners are not maintaining their properties. The KMC has warned such owners several times but it fell on deaf ears. He added there are other market buildings in the city such as Jadubabur Bazar in Bhowanipore which are ill-maintained and pose a risk of collapse. He suggested that KMC will have to come up with a policy to ensure the maintenance of these buildings.
He said: “We will draw up the policy and send it to the state government for approval. Further, in case we find any damaged portions
in these market buildings overlooking the pavement and pose a risk of collapse, we will demolish them.”