20230722 Night fire guts 2,000 Mangala Haat stalls
India Jul 22 2023 “Building” “Stores”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : more than 70 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Night fire guts 2,000 Mangala Haat stalls
Updated: 2023-07-22
HOWRAH: A devastating fire gutted around 2,000 wholesale and retail stalls at Mangala Haat in Howrah, one of the largest garment and apparel markets in the eastern region, in the early hours of Friday.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the site immediately after the mega rally at Esplanade, ordered a CID probe into the fire following allegations of sabotage by the traders. There were no reports of injury or death. Members of Mangala Haat Byabosayi Samity said the loss due to the fire was close to Rs 4.5 crore.
Traders said the fire was first spotted around 1am on Friday. Within minutes, it engulfed hundreds of stalls of ready-made apparels. It took 22 fire tenders and nearly eight hours to combat and control the inferno. Fire fighters said the fire had spread around 7,000 square feet, affecting around 2,000 stalls. The Howrah district hospital as well as the Howrah police station, zilla parishad central office and other institutes located beside the market were shrouded by the dense black smoke.
Howrah Municipal Corporation chairperson Sujoy Chakraborty said the fire could have been caused by a short circuit. He added the traders of several stalls at the market had been repeatedly warned to fix the electric wires hanging dangerously. The forensic team will check whether there was any combustible material from where the fire could had spread. Asking the traders to lodge an FIR, Mamata Banerjee announced that CID and fire brigade would probe the incident. “I want Mangala haat market to continue. The traders need to take fire licence and keep security personnel to prevent such fire incidents,” said the CM.
The CM said the state government would stand guarantor if traders availed of Rs 5 lakh loan under the ‘Bhobhisyot’ scheme. The CM also said that a building would be set up for rehabilitation of the traders if the land is found to be with the government. Banerjee added that a plan could be worked out to rehabilitate the traders near Satragachhi Bypass if there was a dispute with the existing land.
Web Source: The Times of India