Nearly 1,000 shops were gutted after a massive fire broke out at the key clothing market of Mangala Haat in West Bengal’s Howrah in the early hours of Friday. It is one of the largest garment markets in eastern India, reported PTI citing police. Meanwhile, no causality has been reported in the incident so far, an official added. The report mentioned that many wholesale and retail cloth shops in the market were burnt to ashes with estimated losses of several lakhs. The authorities are trying to ascertain the cause of the fire.
"It is not yet known how the fire started. Initially, 12 fire tenders were pressed into service. Later six more were engaged in dousing the blaze," the police officer said as quoted by PTI. A fire department official said that flames were nearly under control.
According to ABP Ananda, around 1,000 shops were gutted in the fire. Traders alleged that a local promoter, Shantiranjan Dey, wanted to demolish the market and build a multi-storey building. The traders accused the promoter of pouring kerosene and setting the market on fire, ABP Ananda reported.
The fire brigade was called by police at around 1 am on Friday. As per PTI, the fire spread quickly as the shops were made of bamboo and wood. Also, the large quantities of clothes also fuelled the fire. The fire department official added that the flames spread over an area of about 5,000 square feet, quoted PTI.
Meanwhile, heavy police deployment has been done in around one and a half kilometres from the Howrah railway station.
Traders have sought CM Mamata Banerjee’s intervention demanding rehabilitation.
"The market was gutted earlier in 1987. We faced a hard time to reorganise things. We have lost everything once again. The chief minister should intervene," one of the traders said.
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