‘Pocket fires’ smoulder, KMC starts Kidderpore traders’ rehab process
Times of India | 18 June 2025
12 Kolkata: Pocket fires continued to smoulder at the Orphanganj Market in Kidderpore on Tuesday even as efforts to rehabilitate affected traders started. The state confirmed that around 700 shops were completely or partially destroyed in the fire that had started early on Monday.The KMC market department initiated a survey to check the status of the stalls, depending on which compensation would be paid to affected traders and they would be shifted to an alternative space before the market is renovated. "We have discussed the rehabilitation matter, marking it ‘urgent'. We have asked our market department officials to look out for a space within the market that can be used for temporary rehabilitation of traders till the restoration is completed in phases. They should also consider setting up temporary stalls for some traders on an adjacent land," said a KMC official, who attended a meeting at the Brough IX office. Compensation forms were given out to traders, who were told to submit their documents.A forensic team visited the spot to collect evidence. "We could not complete our probe due to the pocket fires. We will return in a couple of days," said a forensic expert, adding a short circuit was suspected to have caused the blaze. "We can't comment without preliminary reports." The DD scientific wing collected evidence and CCTV footage to check for sabotage possibility. "The fire spread quickly due to flammable materials there. We are checking the cause, including if it was set intentionally, as alleged by some traders. Action will be taken," police commissioner Manoj Verma said. Lalbazar officers said they were awaiting a complaint from the fire brigade or traders. Fire minister Sujit Bose responded to allegations of fire brigade negligence at the state assembly: "The fire brigade reached the scene at 2:05 am. Mayor Firhad Hakim called me around 3 am. I reached in the morning and the CM visited in the afternoon. Those claiming the fire brigade had no water are wrong. We sourced water from Adi Ganga. There was an issue due to silt, but there was no lack of water or urgency." Suvendu Adhikari with Kulti MLA Ajay Poddar, Arjun Singh and Rakesh Singh visited the site.