The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) sent a team of its officials to the oxygen cylinder godown at Kankurgachi, where a fire broke out, triggering explosions early on Thursday, to inspect and find out if the facility had the necessary permission, said mayor Firhad Hakim.
Hakim said that if the probe revealed the godown did not have the required permission, the KMC would write to the fire directorate to take steps against the owners of the godown. Police said they have identified several owners of the godown, but they could not be traced till Thursday evening.
Sources in the civic body said stocking oxygen cylinders is a “hazardous” business. Such businesses can be carried out from standalone buildings in residential areas, but no residential building can be used for the purpose.
All businesses must have a certificate of enlistment issued by the KMC. The license department of KMC issues certificates or trade licenses.
KMC sources said nowadays trade licenses are issued online, and there is any check while issuing them.
“We sent a team to Kankurgachi. I spoke with the councillor. I cannot say immediately if the godown had the necessary permission. If they did not possess the required permission, we would write to the fire department to take steps against them. I have already spoken with officials from the fire department,” Hakim said on Thursday.
Santi Ranjan Kundu, the councillor of Ward 32 of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), said that the godown was part of thousands of warehouses and industrial units in the Lohapatty neighbourhood. “Many of the units here have been running for decades. Most of them lack necessary permissions because they have been running from a time when such rules were not enforced,” he said.
A civic body official said that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, allows 41 categories of businesses, that fall under the non-hazardous category, to be run from residential buildings.
Some of them are dry food shops, meat and fish shops, diagnostic centres, banks/ ATMs. Any business other than these will fall under the hazardous category.
