Min hands over compensation to fire victims of New Town

Kolkata: State Food and Supply minister Jyotipriya Mallick on Monday handed over cheques worth Rs 35,000 to each affected families of Gouranganagar Nibeditapally slum in New Town, who were rendered homeless after the devastating fire broke out on Diwali night.

The compensation was given for reconstruction of the huts. "The compensation has been handed over within 48 hours of the incident. We need to stand by the people who turned homeless due to an accident," the minister said.

Later, Mallick criticized state BJP president Dilip Ghosh. The minister said in the upcoming General Assembly Election, 2021 BJP will not get even a single seat in North 24 Parganas. He also claimed that BJP will not be able to arrange sufficient number of polling agents.

Around 6:30 pm, some portions of a hut caught fire from candles lit up for Diwali. The occupants of the other huts, adjacent to the gutted one, tried to douse the flames, but they failed. Due to strong winds, the fire started spreading fast. Before the fire tenders could reach the spot, a LPG cylinder reportedly exploded in the area. Five fire tenders were soon pressed into action. It took around two and a half hours to extinguish the fire.

As soon as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee learnt about the incident, she instructed the North 24 Parganas district administration to distribute relief materials among the affected people. She had also sanctioned compensation for reconstructing homes of the victims.

On Saturday night, local administration had arranged relief materials for the families and accommodated the victims in a local school. Local Trinamool Congress leaders handed over Rs 5,000 to each of the families for daily expenses till their homes are rebuilt.