Major fire breaks out at New Alipore slum, no casualties reported

Kolkata: A massive fire broke out in a slum near Durgapur Bridge in New Alipore on Saturday evening, destroying several shanties and creating panic among residents.

The fire, which started around 7 pm, spread quickly through the slum, which is situated near a private hospital. Sixteen fire tenders were dispatched to the scene to battle the fire in multiple phases, and the flames were brought under control by around 7:50 pm. Fortunately, no casualties or injuries were reported.

State sports minister Arup Biswas and Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim visited the site to assess the damage. Hakim suggested that the frequent fires in slum areas might be due to the use of open flames for heating during the winter. “It is possible that the fires in the dwellings are used to keep the cold away, from where they spread. We need to investigate why back-to-back fire incidents are happening,” he said, adding that the slum was unauthorised, and the identities of the residents were unknown.

According to sources, twenty-five families were living in the slum, located on railway land.

The fire reportedly started in one of the shanties and quickly spread through the area. In addition to fire tenders, Army personnel from the nearby army camp assisted in the firefighting efforts.

The blaze also caused significant disruption to traffic. The Durgapur Bridge was closed to vehicles, causing congestion, while train services on the Sealdah-Budge Budge section were disrupted.

This fire follows another devastating fire incident on Friday afternoon, when nearly 100 shanties were destroyed in a slum near Science City.