Kolkata: A major fire broke out in the shanties of Anandpur area in Kolkata on Sunday, officials said. Fortunately, no casualty was reported but the cause of the fire could not be ascertained yet.
Nearly 10 fire tenders were pressed into service and the flames were doused in an hourlong operation. According to officials the flames were first spotted at around 10:30 am and the control room was informed at around 11 am. The entire area has been cordoned off, a fire official said.
Locals said they heard loud a sound of explosion and saw black smoke billowing out from the area. There are around 68 shanties in the slum and majority of them were damaged in the fire.
Fire services DG Sanjay Mukherjee said, "The fire is under control at the moment. There is nothing to worry about. Now the cooling-off operation is being undertaken. It was a massive fire and we started dousing the flames from the periphery towards the interiors."
According to locals the fire spread very fast to all the shanties. The fire broke out in one of the tea stalls in the slum and then spread to the cluster of shanties, a local resident said.
The dwellers of the shanties said all their belongings were gutted in the fire. Also, there are some High Secondary examinees who have lost their books and documents.
The slum dwellers said they do not know what to eat, where to stay or how the HS examinees will sit for the exam. Local leaders have reached the spot and are speaking to the affected slum dwellers.
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