The remains of the plastic factory on Sashibhusan Mukherjee Road. Picture by Aranya Sen

Leaping flames engulfed an illegal plastic factory on Sashibhusan Mukherjee Road, in Behala, on Friday morning, giving the residents of the densely-populated area a scare. The factory was gutted but there were no casualties. Some houses were damaged.

“Our building was like a furnace by 7.15 am. My daughter was still in bed with her four-and-a-half-month-old child. We could have been roasted,” said Pratul Mukherjee, who lives next to the factory.

“The employees work till very late. I have repeatedly requested them to stop working at night, but they hardly pay attention,” he added.

Some of the buildings in the area have developed cracks as a result of the heat. The flames rose so high that the water tank on the second-floor of a house has sprung a leak.

Five tenders took nearly four hours to control the blaze. There were no injuries, said fire brigade officials. According to them, the fire may have been caused by a short circuit.

District police superintendent S.N. Gupta said he has asked the local police station to probe the incident. “Bikram Dalmia purchased the factory a few months ago. We will see if it was being run according to the rules,” he said.

Narendra Nath Mondal, a security guard of the factory, said he had alerted two of the employees, who were still working, on seeing the flames.

Trinamul Congress councillor and borough chairperson Ratna Sur stated: “As far as I know, Dalmia had not renewed the trade licence. He was drawing water and electricity illegally.”

She added that a number of factories in the area, including some processing hazardous chemicals, are running illegally. “Such factories should not be allowed to run in a residential area. I will find out if the establishments have obtained clearances from the pollution control board and the fire brigade,” Sur said.