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Rajasthanis worst hit by Kolkata fire

JAIPUR: The devastating fire in Kolkata’s Burrabazar area that started on Saturday night and is still raging has anguished the people of Rajasthan as a large number of those affected belong to this State.

An estimated 6,000 families originally hailing from Rajasthan’s Shekhawati region and Bikaner are said to be hit by the blaze which, according to reports reaching here, has destroyed as many as 4,000 shops in the wholesale hub so far. The West Bengal capital alone has an estimated 12 lakh people of Rajasthani origin.

Though there were no direct casualties in the fire which turned to ashes the shops selling tarpaulin, readymade garments, cotton and synthetic clothes, among other things, reports said one of the affected traders, 50-year-old Tejkaran Vaid, who had four shops in Nandram Katla (complex), died of shock after the fire. Mr. Vaid hailed from Rajdelsar in Churu district of Rajasthan.

Speaking to The Hindu on phone from Kolkata, Sandeep Bhutoria, president of the Rajasthan National Forum, a body of persons of Rajasthani origin, said on Monday evening that the fire continued to rage in the complex even as voluntary agencies and the fire brigade personnel were trying to evacuate people and salvage whatever was left. He estimated the losses at Rs.2,000 crore to 5,000 crore.

He alleged indifference on the part of the West Bengal Government in providing prompt assistance to the affected persons and in quelling the fire.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje talked to her West Bengal counterpart Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Sunday and appealed for all possible help to the victims. A delegation from the State comprising Cabinet Ministers Kalicharan Saraf and Khemaram Meghwal and Members of Parliament Subhash Maharia and Ramsingh Kaswan, reached Kolkata on Monday to take stock of the situation and meet the victims.

Former Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is scheduled to reach Kolkata on Tuesday.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot in a statement here said that despite an appeal by West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi for all possible help, the State Government had only blamed the traders for the fire instead of helping them.

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