Major Fire Breaks Out In Kolkata's Narkeldanga Slum, 1 Dead

Around 200 people living in a slum became homeless after fire broke out in Narkeldanga area of Kolkata on Saturday night.

Kolkata:A 65-year-old man was charred to death and more than 40 shanties were gutted in a major fire that broke out in a slum in Narkeldanga area of Kolkata last night, officials said on Sunday.

Fire brigade personnel recovered the body of Habibul Molla, a rag picker, from a gutted shanty after dousing the flames. He was a resident of Najat area in South 24 Parganas district and was living in this slum for the last 10 years.

Locals spotted the fire at around 11 pm on Saturday and loud blasts of gas cylinders were also heard. After initially trying to extinguish the fire with water, they informed the fire department. Nearly 16 fire tenders reached the spot and it took around four hours to completely douse the flames. Vehicles parked in the area along with many shanties were burnt to ashes, rendering several families homeless.

According to fire department sources, it is likely that the fire broke out in a shanty while cooking. Since the shanties are made of plastic and bamboo, the fire started spreading very fast.

Most people living in this slum, adjacent to the railway housing in Narkeldanga, work as van and autorickshaw drivers and daily wage earners. Many of them were sleeping when the incident occurred. They somehow managed to escape from their shanties on time.

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