Fire rages in a godown on Saturday and (right) embers after the flames are doused. Pictures by Gopal Senapati

Bandhaghat in Howrah’s JN Mukherjee Road is known for its quilts that are available there at reasonable prices. People from Hooghly, Howrah and Calcutta flock to Bandhaghat in winter to buy lep, toshok and bali that are available at fair prices because of the area’s proximity to cotton godowns and skilled workers.

But frequent fires in the cotton godowns cause huge losses to the industry. “We depend on the wholesale cotton dealers for our supply. Sometimes we have to ensure delivery on credit from our known cotton dealers. If frequent fire destroys their godowns we have to buy cotton from other dealers at higher rates,” said Rana Prasad Shaw, a retail seller at Howrah Maidan.

There are hundreds of retail shops and scores of cotton godowns on JN Mukherjee Road. Fire often breaks out in the godown and cotton worth several lakhs are damaged. Every cotton godown is virtually a tinderbox in the absence of fire safety measures.

“The cotton godowns are a cause of concern for us. In the absence of any fire safety measure, fire breaks out often and takes several hours to be doused. The only plus point is that the Hooghly is nearby and there is no dearth of water,” said an officer of fire and emergency services, Howrah division. He said that water had to be sprayed on the heap of burnt out cotton for hours even after fire is not visible. “Fighting fire in other godowns is not so hazardous. Simmering fire remains hidden inside the cotton and they often break out every now and then,” said a fire brigade personnel.

There are two types of traders associated with the business in Bandhaghat. The first are the businessmen, who retail toshok , lep and balis. The second type are the cotton suppliers. They have to maintain a constant stock of cotton for the retailers.

There are a large number of cotton godowns on the banks of the Hooghly, near JN Mukherjee Road most of which are dilapidated. “The cotton godowns are in a perilous state. Live wires hang overhead. Fire extinguishers cannot be found anywhere. There is only one exit and entry point for every godown. Even fire brigade personnel have a trying time in controlling fire in cotton godowns,” said an officer.

The godowns in JN Mukherjee Road were built during First World War and since then there has been no repairs or maintenance. “It appears that the electric wires were laid nearly a 100 years back. Since then no one bothered to lay new electric wires,” said Bimal Dutta, a local resident. The fire officers claimed that the old electric wires could cause fire any moment. The wholesale cotton traders, however, expressed their helplessness. “We have to store cotton near Bandhaghat where there are hundreds of retail shops. We have no alternative but to store them in those godowns knowing very well that a fire could destroy the entire stock any moment,” said Binode Agarwal, a cotton trader.

“We are eager to move to modern godowns with all fire safety measures. But there is not a single such godown in JN Mukherjee Road,” said another cotton trader.