Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The massive fire that broke out on Monday (June 16) at a market in Kolkata’s Khidirpur, an area near the port, was “man-made”, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari alleged on Tuesday (June 17, 2025).
More than 700 shops were gutted in the fire at the centuries-old Orphangunge Market following which the State government announced compensation for the affected shop owners.
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“No one will move from here. The government is planning to sell the land to some multinational (company). The CM has taken kickbacks for it,” Mr. Adhikari said. He assured the shop owners that he would stand by them and asked them not to be “scared” of anyone.
Even as firefighters continued to battle the residual flames, multiple fires started on Tuesday. The forensics team visited the spot, assessed the situation and collected samples. Their report will determine the cause of the fire.
The shop owners have built a makeshift stage to conduct a sit-in demonstration, refusing to move. Many alleged that the fire was ‘man-made’ and ‘started’ to displace them and ‘grab’ their land.
“No mall should come up in our market area. We will give up our lives, but we will not let our land go,” a shop owner said. Many said that they would not be able to set up their businesses in a new place without support.
Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose raised the issue at the Legislative Assembly session on Tuesday and said, “Some people are spreading rumours about the role of the fire brigade, but the first distress call came at 2.05 am. Immediately after fire tenders reached the spot.” He said that allegations that fire tenders did not have enough water were false.
The Minister said that it is not good to do politics over issues where people have been affected and the State’s fire fighters are putting lives on the line to douse the flames.
On Monday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the “government will take scientific measures to rebuild the market so that such incidents do not occur in the future.” “For the time being, we will shift the market till this affected place is reconstructed,” she said. She also offered ₹1 lakh compensation for shops that were completely gutted and ₹50,000 for those partially affected.
But Mr. Adhikari said the shops were worth much more than ₹1 lakh and asked the State government to pay at least ₹25 lakh as compensation per shop. Some shopowners said that the amount of goods that they lost was worth much more than the compensation the government has offered.
Published – June 17, 2025 08:51 pm IST