Fire damages 75-year-old Bengali restaurant

A

fire

broke out at the first floor of the 75-year-old

New Basanta Cabin

restaurant at

Hedua

in north Kolkata on Friday afternoon.

Around 3pm, smoke was seen billowing out of the air conditioner machine on the first floor eating area. Some of the men having food at the restaurant noticed it and immediately evacuated the floor as fire brigade was called in. As flames were seen from behind the air conditioner, fire fighters and restaurant staff poured water and sprayed fire extinguishers to douse the fire in quick time.

Following the incident, the restaurant was shut down till late evening for cleaning and wiping before they reopened again around 8pm on Friday. “More than the fire, the water damaged the furniture more. But we were able to quickly get them fit and running for the evening puja revelers,” said Ramanath Roy, the current owner of the restaurant.

New Basanta Cabin on Bidhan Sarani is one of the oldest restaurants in north Kolkata known for its exclusive fish fry, fish cutlet and other fried items and finds mention in several novels of yesteryears written by the likes of Shibram Chakraborty and Syed Mujtaba Ali. In its heydays, it was frequented by authors like Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shakti Chattopadhyay. Actor Mithun Chakraborty was also one of the major patrons of the restaurant.