Fire near airport, aircraft moved to safety

KOLKATA: A paint factory near Kaikhali, just off Kolkata airport's boundary wall, was gutted in a fire on Monday morning.
Though no one was injured, the fire created a flutter among airport officials and residents of the apartment next to the factory. The blaze was brought under control after five hours of firefighting.
Two Airbus 319 and one ATR aircraft of Air India, parked in hangars near the boundary wall next to the spot, were immediately removed to safety.Landings and take-offs at the airport were restricted to the Madhyamgram end of the runway. "However, no flights were delayed," said general manager (operation), Mahesh Kaul.
The fire was spotted around 9.15 am and the flames rose as high as the Green Valley Apartment building's fifth floor in just five minutes, making residents panic. Airports Authority of India sent eight fire tenders to ensure that the flames did not spread to the airport compound. West Bengal Fire Services sent 16 fire tenders.
"There were drums containing inflammable chemicals in the factory's courtyard. We suspect the fire broke out when a bidi stub thrown by a worker fell into a drum," said a fire services officer. Firemen said scarcity of water posed a major problem.
Rajarhat-Gopalpur Municipality officials said the decades-old factory came under the municipality in 1994. But its owners don't have a proper licence. "Civic officials lacked the will to shut it down as its workers are CPM supporters," alleged an AAI official.
Admitting that the factory doesn't possess a valid licence, municipality chairman Tapas Chatterjee said: "We have lodged a complaint against the owner." No one has been arrested yet.