Kolkata: The death toll of fire at a warehouse in Anandapur in Kolkata on Tuesday had reached 11 leaving several people missing.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor Firhad Hakim on Tuesday had reached the spot and had announced Rs. 10 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased.
“The forensic team is doing their job. FIR is done and the actual reason behind the fire will be ascertained soon,” said Hakim.
Asked whether the land was illegally made after covering a water body to which Hakim said that such a work is common since 2006 during the Left Front regime.
Notably, devastating fire engulfed a warehouse in the wee hours of Sunday and even after 30 hours the fire was seen in pockets and police had to bring a gas cutter to break open the iron bars.
Ranvir Kumar, Director General, West Bengal Department of Fire and Emergency Services, said that FIR will be lodged as the warehouse had no fire clearance certificate.
Fire and emergency service Minister Sujit Bose also had reached the spot and said, “We conduct audits every month, but we cannot be certain right now if this place had a fire audit. The place is congested and has no fire clearance certificate.”
Also Watch:
The charred bodies which were removed from the warehouse are yet to get identified.
Taking to X, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said, “In Nazirabad; Anandapur, this man-made tragedy struck in an area of the East Kolkata Wetlands, where land have been converted illegally and illegitimate industrial units mushroomed in the last few years, which operate unchecked without following any norms. People were trapped inside the locked warehouses filled with inflammable materials, with no escape routes, narrow lanes blocking rescue, and zero fire safety measures. This is not a mere accident, it is the direct consequence of the Mamata Banerjee Government's chronic negligence, incompetence, and utter failure in governance.”
