ASHES TO ASHES: A fire-fighter tosses a bicycle twisted by the shantytown blaze into the debris. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Over 210 shanties, spread over 50,000 sq ft on Muraripukur Road, in Ultadanga, were gutted early on Wednesday. There was no casualty, but over 1,000 people were rendered homeless.

Most of the shanties, housing gas cylinders, stoves and polythene sheets, were burnt before the fire brigade could reach the spot. Fifteen tenders took about three hours to control the blaze.

“My son woke me up around 3 am. We hurriedly managed to carry out some of our belongings before the flames engulfed our home,” sobbed Kalpana Hait, whose shanty was burnt in the fire.

This is the second large fire in the area within a year. In February 2006, a fire in an adjacent slum gutted over 300 shanties and rendered over 1,200 people homeless.

“There are two transformers next to the slums. If the fire had spread to the transformers, the whole area would have been destroyed,” said a CESC official.

Firemen said the cause of the fire can be ascertained only after the forensic reports arrived. A probe is underway.

Residents of the destroyed shanties have been sheltered in a government-sponsored school in Ultadanga. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC), local clubs and non-governmental organisations are making arrangements for their rehabilitation.

The homeless slum-dwellers are staying in pandals erected on the campus. Camps have also been set up to distribute medicines among the fire victims. Blankets will be distributed among the affected slum-dwellers, promised a member of a local club.

Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, local member of Parliament Mohammad Salim, councillor and MLA Rupa Bagchi, deputy mayor Kalyan Mukherjee and mayoral council member (parks and gardens) Faiyaz Ahmed Khan visited the spot.

“Such incidents have become common. It is essential for us to chalk out a plan to rehabilitate the people rendered homeless,” said Bhattacharyya.

The mayor added that the CMC was planning to start a campaign in the slums to make the residents aware of the need to properly dispose of plastic and other combustible material.