85 shanties destroyed

fire gutted about 85 shanties in Kalikapur, off the EM Bypass, on Friday evening, leaving about 300 people homeless. Ten tenders took nearly two-and-a-half-hours to douse the flames. According to residents, the fire started after a cracker fell on a shanty around 6.30pm. “The fire spread as LPG cylinders started exploding,” said a resident. n another incident, the terrace room of a Dover Road house was destroyed after a cracker fell on it. Two tenders brought the fire under control. mattress factory at Kaikhali also caught fire on Friday evening. Five tenders doused the blaze.

Water scarcity: Parts of Behala, Santoshpur, Garia and Garden Reach did not receive their regular quota of water on Thursday. CMC’s chief engineer (water supply) Bibhas Maity said there was a shortfall of about 21 million gallons because of power failure in the Garden Reach plant.

Forgery racket: Aynul Haque, 30, of Belgharia, and Jawahar Pandit, 50, of Serampore, Hooghly, were arrested on Thursday for allegedly forging demand drafts.

Skeleton found: The body of Ramu Ram, 30, which has turned into a skeleton, was found in a bush inside an abandoned factory adjacent to Dasnagar Investigation Centre in Howrah on Friday. Ram, a resident of Uttar Dasnagar, had been missing for three months. His family members identified him by his clothes.

Theft: Ornaments worth nearly Rs 1 lakh were stolen from a Krishna temple at Arjunpur in the Baguiati police station area on Thursday night.

Cracker arrest: Bachhu Mukhia was arrested when he tried to prevent a police team from seizing banned crackers in Burrabazar on Friday.

Youth dead: A youth died when an unknown vehicle hit his motorcycle near Parama Island on the EM Bypass on Friday evening. he pillion rider was critically injured. he body of 25-year-old jute mill worker Rajkumar Shaw was found beside Kalyani Expressway in Barrackpore on Friday morning. An officer of Jagaddal police station said the body bore injury marks behind the head.