Five shops gutted after fire at Siliguri's Bidhan Market

Darjeeling: A fire in the Tulopatty area of Bidhan Market in Siliguri gutted 5 shops.

The fire broke out at around 6 am on Sunday as shops were slowly opening up in the busiest and biggest market of Siliguri. The fire brigade was called in and within 15 minutes the engines arrived. Around 5 garment shops got gutted in this time span.

About 3 engines worked relentlessly to fight the fire. At around 9 am the fire was under control. The shopkeepers and locals pitched in to lend a helping hand.

Nearby shops were also vacated. Local area Councillors Manjushree Pal and Nantu Pal arrived at the spot to take stock of the situation. The disaster management team was

also present.

Owing to the winter season, the garment shops had stocked up woolens and winter clothes. Hence, they suffered major losses. "We had recently stored eyeing winter sales. All is lost," lamented Lipton Saha whose shop was gutted. The amount of loss is pegged at around Rs 25 lakh, claimed the affected shopkeepers. The fire officials claim that the cause of the fire is short circuit. As the shops were made of wood the fire caught on easily. None of the shops had fire fighting equipment, stated fire officials.

Despite this being a regular phenomenon in this old market, there is no fire safety measures adopted. "None of the shops have fire fighting mechanism. The authorities have been informed. A major catastrophe was just waiting to occur. However, intervention of the fire brigade saved the day," stated DB Thapa, station-in-charge, Fire Department.

"We have requested the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority to construct concrete shops replacing the present shops. We have even asked the shops to at least keep fire extinguishers. We are looking into the matter," stated Bapi Saha.