The new BJP government in Bengal has given top priority to an issue many Calcuttans had long wanted addressed — illegal buildings and potential fire hazards in the city.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has promised “zero tolerance”.
A walk through Burrabazar, notorious for illegal structures and deadly fires, underlined the enormity of the challenge.
Webs of loosely hanging electric wires, staircases resembling obstacle courses, cigarette butts strewn around, goods spilling into corridors and gates choked by hawkers — Burrabazar remains a symbol of several failures.
Areas like Canning Street, Jamnalal Bajaj Street, Sukeas Lane and Manohardas Road are among the busiest business corridors in eastern India.
Trade continues uninterrupted every day, but serious infrastructural vulnerabilities and violations have left many market complexes teetering on the brink of disaster.
Nandaram Market
Nearly two decades after a fire raged for more than 100 hours at the 14-storey Nandaram Market in 2008, the building still operates without a formal no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state fire and emergency services department.
Owners and the market committee have installed sprinklers, hose pipes and a water reservoir. But corridors remain packed with plastic items, sacks, cupboards and cartons. Navigating through the crowded passages is difficult during the afternoon rush.
“We have been seeking an NOC for some time. Every time officials inspect the market, they prescribe additional measures,” said Chandra Prakash, secretary of the Nandaram Market Traders’ Association.
“The building was constructed in 1955 and some infrastructural challenges remain. We have done our best.”.
Some shop owners admitted that no recent fire audit had been conducted.
At night, most corridors remain dimly lit by a single bulb.
Another challenge is the row of shops around the market. Shops outside clog the entrances and sides, making emergency access difficult.
“We have written to the government about the encroachers. Nothing much has changed. More than 95 fire extinguishers have been installed across the market. They remain our biggest hope during an emergency,” said Deepak Sethia, one of the market’s directors.
Mehta Building
Spread across two blocks — one four-storey, the other five-storey — on Ezra Street, Mehta Building houses more than 600 wholesale shops.
The market does not have a formal fire clearance.
Mehta Building, (right) fire extinguisher
Several shop owners said they could not remember when the last fire audit was conducted.
“We have implemented several recommendations of an expert fire safety committee. Some work, like installing a large diesel generator, is pending because of space constraints,” said Deepak Arora, an office executive of Mehta Building. “We will apply to the new government for an NOC.”
Corridors were packed with cartons and goods jutting out from shops. Narrow staircases could barely accommodate one person at a time.
Some fire extinguishers had been padlocked because they were often dislodged in the cramped aisles.
The gates of the market are choked by hawkers on pavements and parts of the road.
In June 2008, the market was ravaged by a major fire. Though electrical cables were replaced and an additional iron staircase installed, another fire broke out in June 2024 in a third-floor godown storing chemicals, medicines and orthopaedic instruments.
Shop owners said a fire tender from Lalbazar, less than 2km away, struggled to reach the market because of encroachments.
“The fire drill happens occasionally, usually on Sundays. I cannot remember when the last one was held,” said Abdul Barik, secretary of the cloth and general merchants’ association.
Bagree Market
The sprawling six-storey Bagree Market on Canning Street houses more than 1,000 shops selling medicines, jewellery and electrical gadgets.
A devastating fire in September 2018 kept firefighters battling for more than 36 hours.
The market does not have a valid NOC. “The NOC expired three months ago. We have hired a consultant for renewal,” Mohammad Qasim, former president of the market association and owner of MC Jewellers, told Metro on Thursday.
Cartons lined some corridors, while hawkers sold papri chaat and dahi vada amid sacks of goods in others.
Some shop owners said fire inspections were conducted every Sunday. Almost every shop has smoke detectors and fire sensors installed.
“The impact of the 2018 fire has not faded from memory. We have built reservoirs with a capacity of over 1 lakh gallons of water,” said a jewellery shop owner.
But at 9 every night, when the market closes, some electrical connections are switched off — a practice fire experts described as dangerous because alarms and smoke detectors stop functioning without power.
Rampuria Market
The seven-storey Rampuria Market on Canning Street sells everything from costume jewellery to household and industrial goods.
Its entrance is difficult to spot amid rows of hawkers crowding the pavement.
Shop owners said they were unsure whether the market had a formal fire NOC. The owner would know, they said. When Metro contacted the owner, he asked why this correspondent wanted the information and disconnected the call.
“The market has only one staircase. There is no separate emergency exit,” said a shop owner.
The staircase was cluttered with boxes and cartons stacked up to the ceiling on some floors.
“It is impossible to implement modern fire norms here. Fire extinguishers are the most we can manage,” another shop owner said.
Outside, business continued as usual.