A major fire broke out on Wednesday at the new administrative office building, popularly known as the office of the additional district magistrate, located on the Alipore Police Court complex in Kolkata. The affected building houses the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office and multiple government departments.
Fire Erupts and Spreads Rapidly
A little after 9:30 am, locals noticed smoke billowing from the eight-storey building. Within minutes, thick smoke engulfed the area as the fire quickly spread, resulting in severe damages. Residents alerted the fire brigade, and initially five fire engines were rushed to the spot.
Two of the five people rescued by firefighters had to be rushed to hospital. One of them, Shahbuddin Mollah, 48, a building staff member, is under observation at SSKM Hospital.
Cause and Response
Firefighters suspect that the blaze was caused by a short circuit. In total, 12 fire tenders were pressed into action. As of 5:30 pm, smoke was still emanating from the fourth floor.
It is believed the fire started from the third floor, which houses the Zilla Parishad Karmadaksha office (along with the second floor), and quickly spread to the NIC department. The flames engulfed the education department, mid-day meal section, and horticulture department. Due to the intensity of the fire, firefighters had to break windowpanes to bring it under control. Power supply to the affected building was cut off.
Rescue Operations
Locals said firefighters rescued workers who were painting the upper floors. Police confirmed that four persons had been rescued from within the building and another from the roof.
There are fears that official documents may have been destroyed in the incident. The fire has reportedly not yet been fully brought under control.
Impact on Government Services
The fire began from the third floor, which also houses the NIC office responsible for maintaining servers of all government departments in the district. The fire has fully engulfed the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the building. From this facility, internet connectivity is provided to all government offices.
An employee at the department, Enamul Hossain, said, “The entire system of all government offices is connected from here. If the internet goes down, all government websites will collapse. A large number of important documents have also been destroyed in the fire.”
Eyewitness Accounts
Eyewitness Md Shahnawaz said, “The fire spread to both wings, affecting several department offices inside. The staff working indoors was filled with panic as smoke filled the building.” Fire services managed to bring the situation under control before it escalated further.
Hundreds of government employees waited at the complex gates and even clicked photos and recorded videos. Some were busy making calls as they waited for fire brigade officials to bring the situation under control.
A staffer of the Motor Vehicles department, Sahadev Patra, claimed that most employees came to see the fire. “There was fire spotted from all corners of the building. It was not just smoke. Flames were visible from even the main gate of the Bhawani Bhawan. More than 500-plus employees work here. We are worried when we can resume work again,” said Patra.
Political Reactions
With the office of Jahangir Khan, the arrested Trinamool Congress leader from Falta in Diamond Harbour, also located there, the BJP demanded a proper probe into the incident. BJP functionary and port candidate Rakesh Singh claimed, “Why did it break out from Karmadakshya’s office? With Jahangir in jail, even Abhishek Banerjee is worried,” he claimed.
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