Babubazar, in the port area, reduced to rubble by a major fire at daybreak on Sunday. Picture by Pabitra Das

At least 90 stalls were gutted and several damaged in a fire at Babubazar, on Circular Garden Reach Road, in the port area, early on Sunday.

It took 11 fire-tenders more than three-and-a-half hours, since 3.30 am, to bring the blaze under control. Three persons, including a nine-year-old girl, were critically injured, but stall-owners claimed that several lives could have been lost, as most of them slept inside the market.

All the gates of the market have been sealed. South Port police station has started a probe on the basis of a complaint lodged by the fire brigade. Forensic experts, too, have been called in.

“We’ve asked the forensic experts to ascertain the cause of the fire. The stall-owners believe it was a sabotage," said a fire services officer.

On orders from fire services minister Pratim Chatterjee, the authorities are dealing sternly with incidents of market blazes.

Major shopping centres, such as AC Market, Vardaan Market and Treasure Island, have been asked to follow fire-safety norms or face closure.

The fire at Babubazar reortedly started from a grocery shop, near the eastern gate, and spread in a flash, thanks to plastic and tar sheets that connect the stalls.

Fanned by strong winds, the blaze soon engulfed stalls adjacent to the grocery shop and then leaped on to the iron scaffolding atop a huge area that houses around 80 shops. Soon, the iron structure caved in from two sides.

The blaze spread towards the northern end by the time shop-owners, local residents and labourers rushed to break the connectors between the eastern and northern blocks of the market.

As minutes passed, stall after stall was swallowed by the flames, while desperate shop-owners cried for help.

“The heat was overbearing and we couldn’t first enter through the eastern gate. And after we did, it took some time to make out which part of the market was worst affected,” recounted shop-owner Santosh Kumar Agarwal.

“The temporary structures collapsed, while rows of sacks started burning. We didn’t know where to begin. This could have been a major tragedy, as all the godowns are located on the first floor in the northern side. If the fire had spread to one of those rooms, the entire building would have collapsed,” Agarwal added.

As soon as the fire-fighters arrived, they started spraying water jets. But they soon realised they were ill-equipped to douse a blaze of this magnitude. The central control was called up, seeking more fire-tenders.

The local police, too, called the headquarters at Lalbazar for support. By 6 am, the firemen saw the signs of the blaze being contained. In another hour, it was doused.

Suspecting sabotage, some shop-owners pointed at an electrical meter box adjacent to the grocery shop from where the fire had reportedly spread. Though a mesh of wires hangs near the box, it was not affected by the blaze.

“The market has two court-appointed receivers, who have time and again expressed their wish to develop this land. We have resisted their efforts, so they tried some other trick this time,” said shop-owner Md Gyasuddin.

“Why is it that despite our repeated pleas, no efforts were made to ensure that the market had at least the basic fire-fighting devices?” he asked.