WB: Fire at Hatibagan market, shops gutted

Kolkata, Aug 14: Several shops were gutted at the Hatibagan market in North Kolkata on Thursday evening, after a fire broke out inside a garment shop. No injuries were reported.

Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control in about two hours, senior fire department officers said.

The fire first broke out in a garment shop and was reported by a few shopkeepers who noticed smoke billowing out from the shop at around 7.30 PM. Soon the fire spread to some adjacent shops, a senior police officer said.

The exact cause of the fire and the extent of damage have not yet been ascertained yet, a fire department officer said adding, the incident would be probed.

Though there were no casualties or injuries, the incident threw traffic out of gear in large parts of North Kolkata as one the busiest thoroughfares of the area, Bidhan Sarani, was blocked by the police to provide quick access to the fire tenders.

Thursday's incident brought the back memories of 2012, when a massive fire had engulfed a major portion of the same market and it had taken more than 30 fire tenders to bring the blaze under control.

In another incident in the Tollygunj area of the metropolis, an electrical transformer caught fire and spread to a couple of shanties close by.

There were no reports of any injuries and two fire tenders brought the fire under control, fire department officers added.

PTI