Friday, 09 January 2026
Friday, 09 January 2026
A fire broke out around 4.30pm on Thursday on SN Banerjee Road, at 15 RSM Square. The fire started out at a winter garments godown in the area popularly known as Bhutiya Market. Locals said no one was inside when the blaze broke out.
Three fire tenders reached the site by 5pm. Local vendors grabbed what they could and fled to the opposite footpath as the smell of burnt woollen and polyester jackets and sweaters filled the air.
Meeraj Khan, a garments seller whose shop was charred by the fire, said, “We were just starting to get some business at this time. Now what will I do? I couldn’t salvage any of my goods. My entire shop has burnt down. I have spent over 15 years selling winter garments here. The shop was my livelihood.”
Khan further added, “I was tending to a customer when I heard people screaming. I don’t know what happened — whether someone started it. We don’t use electricity here, we only use a generator — that too only after 5pm. I still cannot understand what happened.”
Local vendors saved whatever goods they could.
Fire fighters and police, who reached the site quickly, pulled out parts of the tin roof at 15 RSM Square in an attempt to control the fire and brought in three fire tenders to control the blaze.
Most of these vendors come from Nepal on a temporary basis to sell garments during winters.
Local councillors were on site quickly as well and said they will look into the matter once the forensics is complete. Locals said that it took less than 10 minutes for a small flame to turn into a massive blaze.
An official statement from the fire department is awaited as they look to confirm the cause of the fire.
