Business continues as usual at warehouse zone but fire safety lapses haunt locals

Kolkata: Several commercial units, mostly logistics hubs and warehouses for e-commerce firms and other companies, continue to operate near the Anandapur fire site without adequate fire safety measures, claimed locals and gig workers.

TOI on Friday spoke to local residents and workers who flagged concerns over the lack of fire safety compliance in the area, which has turned into a logistics hub off EM Bypass. Tamal Mondal, a resident of Nazirabad, said: "These warehouses have come up over the last few years after filling up bheris. The owners of the warehouses mostly stay outside and they lent out these units to different companies. My uncle had sold off one of his bheris some years ago and that was landfilled. Now one godown of a plywood and an automobile servicing centre have come up there. None of these units complies with fire safety measures."

Another resident, Milon Naskar, requested the administration to monitor and take action against commercial units running in violation of fire safety norms. "Most of these warehouses are stashed with inflammable objects but there is no proper fire security arrangement in place. These units operate for 24 hours. Our building stands between two such logistics units and if any fire breaks out, we would have to pay a heavy price," he said.


Workers at other warehouses said the latest incident has unleashed panic and fear. Prosenjit Jana, a worker at a plywood godown, said: "I have to be on night duty at least thrice a week and considering the amount of inflammable objects stored inside the godown, it will be difficult to save life if fire ever breaks out here. We have already conveyed our concern to the godown manager. After this incident, night shift has become a nightmare for us," he said.

Tapan Das from Baruipur, who works in an e-commerce warehouse about 300 metre away from the spot of the fire, said: "Our delivery service is on for 24 hours and at least 20 people stay here at night. There are a few fire extinguishers but the warehouse is full of combustible materials and there is no escape route. If any fire breaks out, we will die of suffocation due to the lack of proper ventilation and reaching the main gate will be a challenge," he said.