New Delhi: A massive fire broke out at the Khidirpur market in Kolkata on June 15. The fire engulfed an enormous portion of the famous market in the city and reduced a major portion of the bustling commercial area to ashes.
The fire started at around 1 am and spread rapidly through several shops. According to reports quoting local people, over a thousand shops have been destroyed, with some media outlets placing the number at 1,300.
The incident occurred at Khidirpur’s Orphangunge Market, also referred to as the Khidirpur Wholesale Market. Around 20 engines of the fire brigade reached the spot at night. Although the fire has been brought under control, there are still ‘pocket fires’ in various places. The fire brigade is working to extinguish them, trying to bring the fire completely under control.
‘Fire brigade did not arrive on time’
Locals have reportedly complained that the fire brigade did not arrive at the right time. They said that if the firefighting had started at the right time, the damage could have been prevented.
Sujit Bose, the TMC minister in charge of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, reached the spot on Monday morning. When asked about the complaints against the department regarding the Khidirpur incident, he said, “It takes some time for even one car to arrive. Fire trucks have come from Watgunge and Garden Reach. Our people work at the risk of their lives. Besides, many people do not follow the rules properly while setting up shop. I am not blaming anyone. An incident has happened, we will see.”
According to reports quoting local sources, a fire broke out in Khidirpur market shortly after 1 am on Sunday. Since it is a densely populated area, the fire spread within a moment. Before the people of the area could fully understand, the fire engulfed the entire market. Residents tried to put out the fire but to no avail. Allegedly, attempts were made to contact the police station and the fire department, but the latter was late to arrive. The work of putting out the fire began at least two hours after it broke out.
Allegedly, the firefighters had planned to bring water from the Ganges river through pumps to put out the fire. But a lot of time passed while making that arrangement. So far, there have been no reports of casualties in Khidirpur Bazar, but the people are fearing the destruction of over a thousand shops, and the huge loss of property has shaken them completely.
A trader from Khidirpur market reportedly said, “We have to pay the price for the utter failure of the administration and the fire department. There are 1,300 shops here. Everything is gone, the Watgunge police station did not even pick up our calls.” Another businessman said, “The fire brigade arrived late. Even then, they couldn’t start working. The fire brigade didn’t have any water. They didn’t have any oil in their pumps. So they couldn’t draw water from the Ganges river. The shops were burning, and the fire brigade stood in front of them without doing anything.”
