Kolkata market fire: 2 persons charred to death, over 300 shops gutted

A major fire broke out in a market in Dum Dum area in outskirts of Kolkata in West Bengal on Monday in which two persons were charred to death and hundreds of shops were gutted, Fire Brigade said.

The fire broke out in the Gora Bazar of Dum Dum at around 2 am today, they said. Twenty fire tenders were rushed to the spot, the fire brigade said adding that the fire has been brought under control. Two charred bodies have been recovered from the market, they said adding that the cause of the fire was not yet known. More than 300 shops have been gutted in the fire, they said.  

Short circuit is suspected to be the most probable cause for the fire. 

According to Zee 24 Ghanta report, the locals alleged that fire tenders took long time to come and that helped the blaze to spread further. There was lack of sufficient water to douse the fire also, according to locals. This is the third time fire has broken out in Gora Bazar market in recent history. There is hardly any infrastructure to douse fire in Gora Bazar. Hence in most cases, blaze has lead to massive losses of resources but so far authorities haven't done anything substantial to better facilities. Even in Monday morning's blaze, goods worth crores of rupees have been charred. 

There was a UCO Bank branch in the market. It has been completely gutted to ashes in the fire. Many shopkeepers and locals have account in that branch. According to locals, many shopkeepers had stocked extra goods owing to Saraswati Puja. They were hoping for a brisk sale on Monday morning. Their hopes too were reduced to ashes. 

 A similar fire in industrial area of Delhi in Bawana resulted in death of at least 17 people on Saturday. 
 

With agency inputs